Tom's Workers
by KaizokuShojo
Summary: A series of stories contaning fluff, drama, etc. surrounding the greatest shipwrights ever, Tom's Workers. ON HOLD.
1. Injury

_**Tom's** **Workers**_

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**DISCLAMER: I don't own ONE PIECE, and I am not in affiliation with Toei Animation, Shueisha/Jump, or even the evil 4Kids Entertainment. This is my own idea, but like I said, the characters are not mine. They belong to Eiichirou Oda-sensei. **

**KS: NOTE: This is a rewrite of the original **_**Tom's Workers,**_** since the first was so poorly written. If you haven't read through the Water 7 Arc, you **_**might**_** not want to read this. As far as I can recall there are no real spoilers (until much later IF I continue this fic…) but you might not understand it.**

**It's a fic about the lives of Tom's Workers…there will be fluff, etc. **

**Pardon the usage of the word "crap", but it is used in One Piece with frequency.**

**Anyways, enjoy. **

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It was a beautiful, clear day in the city of Water Seven. The sea was calm, the air was crisp…but that doesn't mean that it was peaceful.

"EYOUCH!" young Cutty Flam cried, falling backwards and sticking his thumb in his mouth.

He had just struck it with a hammer while working on yet another of his Battle Frankys; he stood to his feet and glared angrily at the unfinished ship.

"Stupid ship!" he growled, kicking it.

"YAHHH!" he shouted again; this time, he had stubbed his toe. The hammer fell from his hands and landed upon his _other _toe, eliciting another yowl of pain.

"Crap, ow, crap, ow, crap crap crap...!" Cutty shouted as he hopped about, holding his feet in alternation.

Iceburg walked up to him, his brows raised in confusion. "What are you yelling about now?" he asked with an irritated sigh.

"I hit my thumb with a hammer, stubbed my toe on the ship, and dropped my hammer on the other toe…!" Cutty groused, now on the ground trying to nurse his poor feet and thumb.

"Bakanky, if you hadn't been building those irresponsible ships that wouldn't have happened," Iceburg said.

"Shut up, Bakaburg!" Cutty growled.

Stupid Bakaburg, he just didn't understand!

Iceburg sat his hand on his hip and looked down at Cutty scoldingly. "You're just too wild," he muttered.

Tom walked up, a huge stack of lumber hefted on his shoulder.

"What's all the commotion?" he asked.

Iceburg pointed down at the little blue-haired shipwright apprentice at his feet. "He accidentally hammered his thumb, then he stubbed his toe, and then he dropped his hammer on the other toe," he explained.

"TAH ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Tom guffawed after hearing the explanation.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Cutty shouted.

Tom laughed for a moment longer before finally regaining control over himself. "Haha, but it is! You know, if you hadn't gotten angry at yourself and the ship, you would only have your thumb to worry about. As it is now, you've got _three_ injuries!"

Cutty looked a little thoughtful. "I guess so..." he mumbled, getting up.

Tom smiled, laughing a little again. "See? Now just get right back up and show that nail who is boss!"

When the great fish-man turned to walk away, the lumber that he was carrying swung around and hit poor Cutty in the face, knocking him over.

"Ah! Franky!" Iceburg exclaimed.

Tom turned back, looking down at the decked Cutty.

"TA ha ha ha ha ha!" He laughed again.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" both Cutty and Iceburg shouted in unison.

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**Thanks for reading; don't forget to review!**


	2. Morning

_**Tom's Workers**_

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**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE (though I do own some tankobon of it...), I don't own any of the characters in this fanfiction. I have no affiliation with Shueisha/Jump Comics, Toei Animation, or even the evil 4Kids Entertainment.**

**KS: Thank you, everyone for all of your reviews! They really made me want to continue with this fic! I've been focusing on my own series so much that I haven't really done any fanfiction for a while, and now that I have an account at DeviantArt for me to put my ONE PIECE fandrawings on...well, you get it. Anyways, I might not update **_**too**_** quickly, because I have to actually **_**come up with**_** ideas for the chapters...**

**(7-18-08: This is another revised chapter.) **

**Anyways, here we go. This one's still when Cutty & Iceburg were pretty young. **

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_CHAPTER TWO: Breakfast_

It was a day like any other in the city of Water Seven, and like any other day, one had to wake up first.

"WAKE UP YOU THREE!!" Kokoro shouted as she walked up to the three sleeping boys, banging on a frying pan with a large spoon.

"GERO GERO!!" Yokozuna chimed in.

Iceburg sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"Nma...you don't have to keep doing that, I'm up," he muttered.

Kokoro stopped her noise-making. "I know that," she said. She pointed at Tom and Cutty. "But _they're_ not."

The two were still sawing logs, so to speak; the noise itself was almost as loud as the pan. Iceburg couldn't figure out how he slept through it.

"Nma...Don't worry about it; I'll wake them up. Just go and finish breakfast," Iceburg said, stretching.

Kokoro sat her hands on her hips. "Okay. Just be careful with those two. Come on, Yokozuna."

"Gero!" Yokozuna croaked, leaping off after her.

Iceburg stood and stretched further, looking down at Tom and Cutty. Waking them up would not be easy… It never was. He decided to start with Tom first. He may have been a huge fish-man, but he was a little easier to wake up than Cutty.

More dangerous in a way when awoken, perhaps, but easier.

"Oi, Tom-san, wake up," he said, nudging the fish-man with his foot.

"Nn..." Tom muttered.

It didn't work.

"OI! Tom-san! Wake up!" Iceburg shouted, trying again. He pushed harder with his foot, hoping he would not have to resort to kicking.

"Nn...Huh?" Tom mumbled, opening his eyes. "What? Oh, Iceburg. Time to get up already?"

Iceburg smiled a little. "Yeah," he replied.

Tom laughed. "Ta ha ha! So I slept through Kokoro's wake up call again, hm?"

"Yeah, again. That's three days in a row, Tom-san," Iceburg chuckled.

Tom just started laughing again. "Ta ha ha ha ha...!! I guess I could go for a record!!"

He walked off, still laughing. He was the most jovial fish-man Iceburg had ever met...

Iceburg looked back down; he still had business to take care of. He walked over to Cutty.

"Oi, Franky, get up," he said, kicking him in the side.

"Nn!! Just five more minutes..." Cutty muttered, shifting under the covers.

Iceburg rolled his eyes. He didn't want to be too rough. After all, Franky was just a little kid…

He drew his foot back and kicked him harder. "OI!! Bakanky! Wake up!!"

That just rolled him over. Cutty swatted a bit, trying to make Iceburg go away.

"Shut up...Ice...baka..." He mumbled in his sleep.

It was always hard getting him up. Last week Iceburg had just grabbed his futon and _dragged _him to the dining-table. Yesterday he dumped a bucket of ice-water on him. Cutty was just sometimes more trouble than he was worth.

Wait, sometimes? No, all the time.

"Fine," Iceburg said, walking away. "I'll just eat your breakfast."

That did it.

Franky sat up with a jolt. "Ah!! Bakaburg, you stay away from my food!!"

He got up and started to come after Iceburg.

Yep, that had done it.

In the kitchen, they all had settled themselves around the table. Cutty plopped into his place, and Kokoro sat his drink before him.

"What, orange juice?" the young lad asked. "I don't want orange juice! I want a cola!"

Kokoro looked at him sternly. "Franky, you can't always have a cola. They're not good for you."

Cutty pouted. "Yes they are! They give you ENERGY!!" He pounded his bare chest for emphasis.

Kokoro shook her head. "One would think you _ran_ on colas..." she muttered.

Cutty stuck his chest out and pounded it again. "I do! I'm super effici--" he began, but left off. He had forgotten the word.

"Efficient?" Iceburg suggested, pouring milk over his cereal.

"Yeah, efficient!!" Cutty smiled.

Kokoro sighed and shook her head again. "You can have a cola later. Drink your juice for now."

Cutty pouted a bit, but went on to his eating.

Iceburg shook his head. Franky could be so immature. But then, he _was_ just a little kid.

"Ah, look at me!!" Cutty said, interrupting Iceburg's thoughts.

Iceburg looked, and Cutty had put his spoon on his nose.

"Ta ha ha ha...!!" Tom laughed, almost knocking over his glass.

Apparently, Cutty had gotten over his not getting a cola.

Yokozuna looked over at Cutty, then took a spoon and tried to follow suit. After two tries, he got it, which was a miracle in itself, seeing as he had only two slits for a nose.

"Gero gero!!" the sumo-frog croaked triumphantly.

"Ta ha ha ha!!" Tom laughed again.

Iceburg ignored Franky; paying him attention only encouraged him. While Cutty and Yokozuna were still laughing at each other, Iceburg turned to Tom.

"Tom-san, what are we doing today?" he asked.

Tom slowed in his laughter and looked down at him. "Hm? Oh, we're gonna work on that new merchant ship today, remember?"

"Oh, right," Iceburg said, taking a drink.

Yokozuna and Cutty were now trying to see where else they could put their spoons. Cutty put his on his chin, but since Yokozuna didn't have a chin at all, it didn't work so well. They just laughed. Cutty turned to Iceburg.

"I'm gonna work on my battleship today. I still gotta beat a Sea King!!" he said.

Iceburg gritted his teeth and hit Cutty on the head. "Bakanky!! How many times do I have to tell you to stop making weapons?"

"Ow!! Stop it, Bakaburg!" Cutty shouted, rubbing his head and trying to hit Iceburg back.

"Gero gero!!" Yokozuna croaked worriedly, trying to hold Cutty back.

"Tom-san, do something!" Iceburg shouted.

"TA ha ha ha ha!!" Tom laughed.

Iceburg sighed and hit Cutty again, giving him a knot in his head.

It was just a typical day in Water Seven.

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**KS: Oh, man, that took like...thirty minutes. Forty, tops. I didn't have too much inspiration for this one. XD**

_**Scripture for thought: If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.**_


	3. Sea King

_Tom's Workers_

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE (though I do own some tankobon of it...), I don't own any of the characters in this fanfiction. I have no affiliation with Shueisha/Jump Comics, Toei Animation, or even the evil 4Kids Entertainment.**

**LNwM: I got it up pretty quick, ne? This one will continue pretty much where the last left off. Like I said, this one will be a little darker. But, I think the next one will be more so.**

**Also, I'd like give a big thanks to those who reviewed**

CHAPTER THREE: Sea King

Cutty Flam hefted up a large piece of scrap. Despite the..._incident_ of a few days ago with the hammer, he was back to work on his latest ship. He set the metal against the hull and got a nail out of his mouth. He had to keep working. After all, he wanted to beat a Sea King, right? Not just any ship could beat a Sea King. He had to work hard.

"Oi, Franky, come here and help." Iceburg called from a ways off.

Cutty looked over at him. He and Tom were working on a merchant ship order they had gotten two days ago; it was coming allong nicely. Of course, no one could build a ship like Tom could.

Cutty shook his head. "No! I've almost got my newest Battle Franky done! You can do it."

Iceburg gritted his teeth and sighed. "When will he grow up?" He huffed.

Tom looked down at Iceburg. "Don't be so rough on Franky. He's not so bad."

Iceburg sighed a little again. "Maybe, but he shouldn't be making such ships." He said.

Tom was silent a moment. "...Maybe, maybe." There was another pause.

"Well," Tom continued, "Let's get this thing pushed up." He said. Iceburg nodded. "Right." He said. The two set back to work on the ship.

A ways off, Cutty was working hard. "_Almost done..._" He thought. Just a few more adjustments were left. Also, he had to finish rigging the sails.

If he could, he'd try this one out before lunch. All he had to do was finish...all he had to do was just keep working.

Something fell down with a clink, and Cutty looked to see what it was. "Ah, I dropped a nail." He said to himself. He bent over to pick it up, but heard a ripping noise. "Ah...?" he muttered. He knew what had happened. His hand shot to the back of his speedo, and he was right. There was a split running down the back.

"_Oh, crap, tell me that Icebaka didn't see that..._" He thought to himself as he shot up straight. He stole a glance back to Iceburg and Tom.

They were still working; they hadn't noticed. Cutty sighed with releif. Now to fix the problem. He pulled his shirt down as far as he could over his butt and started to dash towards the house.

"Oi, Franky..." Iceburg called as Cutty went by. Cutty stopped imediately and turned to face Iceburg, blushing a bit. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Nice butt." Iceburg chuckled. Cutty's face grew red. "Wha...?" He mumbled.

"I told you you should wear pants." Iceburg added. Cutty stood there for a moment, red. Then, he took off running again.

Kokoro looked at the split in Cutty's mini-speedo as Cutty changed into another pair behind a screen.

"Don't let it get to you, Franky." She said. Cutty audibly sighed. "It's not! I don't care what that stupid Bakaburg thinks!" he retorted.

Kokoro shook her head. "You two need to get allong. You're going to be all you have when Tom and I are gone one day." She said. Cutty came out from behind the screen.

"Tom-san's never gonna die. And neither are you." He said stubbornly, still adjusting the swim pants.

Kokoro laughed a bit. "Well, anyways, you need to get back out there to help. I'll get you a cola." She said. Cutty smiled and leapt up, pumping his fist into the air.

"Super!" He shouted.

Cutty tied one last knot in the sails of his new Battle Franky. It was time to test it out.

He'd show Iceburg...he'd defeat a Sea King today. Not just any Sea King, but the biggest one ever!

He sat his hands on his hips, looking over the ship one more time. It seemed all right...the sails could be better, but it looked super other than that. It was ready to test out. He readied it, and shoved off.

There was a place not _too_ far away where he knew Sea Kings would be; that's where he had to go. He stood on the boat, feeling the salty wind on his face.

It was a good wind. It wouldn't take long to get where he was going.

He was almost there. He looked behind himself, towards the city. The place where Tom-san and Iceburg were was getting much smaller. He smiled; he soon would be going back with a Sea King in tow, he knew it.

He looked back forward and adjusted the sails. He was where he needed to be. He needed to keep some of his speed up, or else a Sea King might just pop up and take a bite out of him. He knew if he just waited patiently enough and kept a good watch…

He didn't even have to wait. The water surged up right beside the Battle Franky.

Cutty looked on with wide eyes at the giant that had arose before him. It was a great, black sea king; at least 100 km long. Cutty turned hard to starboard and pulled the lever to adjust the cannons. The ship lurched dramatically with the quick direction adjustment.

It was now or never! He could do it, he knew he could!

"Battle Franky left!" Cutty shouted, pulling a chain. Four cannons and two harpoons went off simultaneously.

The harpoons sunk into the monster's black, thick flesh.

"YES!" Cutty cheered. The monster jerked to the side out of pain and the harpoons fell back out. The cannonballs simply hit with force, bouncing off of the flesh. The monster roared in anger.

"That…just made it angry…" Cutty moaned. He gritted his teeth and adjusted the sails; the ship jerked about again. The Sea King thrashed, causing great waves. The small battleship almost turned over with one of them. "Crap…" Cutty muttered. He pulled another lever and pulled the chain again. This time, four harpoons jettisoned themselves and all four cannons fired once more.

Cutty gritted his teeth.

The same thing happened. It wasn't going to work. The monster thrashed about again.

"STUPID SEA KING, JUST DIE ALREADY!" Cutty shouted out, brandishing a fist. The monster turned it's attention to Cutty.

"Oh, crap."

It spun a bit, putting it's tail behind it, then started forward at Cutty.

"OH, CRAP!" He shouted. He turned the ship around quickly, almost capsizing it in his rush. The great kuro-coloured Sea King charged at him, teeth bared, jaws gaping. Cutty set the ship full-speed, but the wind wasn't all with him now. Not like it was when he first set out.

He glanced behind him; the monster was right on his tail. He couldn't do anything to make the ship go any faster. If the Sea King caught up, he'd be dead. He'd be eaten. There was only one thing he could do, and he did it.

"AAAAAA!" Cutty shouted in fear.

Iceburg heard something in the distance. He looked up; what was that noise? What was that thing in the ocean? He put up his hand to sheild his eyes.

Oh, no…Dear God no…

Franky was out on his 'Battle Franky', and a giant Sea King was about to kill him. Iceburg's mouth dropped open in shock.

"T-Tom-san…TOM-SAN!" Iceburg shouted, running to fetch the fish-man. Tom looked up from his hammering.

"What? What is it?" He asked quickly, seeing the panic on Iceburg's face.

"It's Franky, he's taken his ship out to try it! He's about to get eaten by a Sea King!" Iceburg said quickly.

Tom's eyes went wide. "What?" He gasped. "Show me!"

Iceburg ran off and Tom followed close behind.

They ran to the shore and Iceburg pointed out to sea. "There!" He said. Tom looked out and saw: Franky was screaming his lungs out, being chased by a great Sea King. There wasn't much distance between them; it might be just a moment before the monster caught up. Iceburg looked to Tom for what to do, and saw something he had never seen before.

For the first time Iceburg had ever seen it...Tom, the great shipwright, was scared. And Iceburg had to admit, so was he.

Franky was in trouble.

**And that's that chapter. Thank you for staying with me so far, I hope you continue. I hope to write up until Franky and Iceburg have gone their separate ways and such. **

_**Scripture for thought: If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. **__**Proverbs 25:21**_


	4. Brotherly talk

**Tom's Workers**

DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE or any of its affiliated characters.

**Author's note: I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. It's just that I've been really depressed with school and all, and I've also been paying a lot of my internet attention to my DeviantART account (it's KaizokuShojo, if anyone wants to check it out. I want to do some drawings based on stuff from this fic at some point, actually) but**** at least I got it up. This chapter might not be all that great; I didn't have a lot of time to revise it and improve it. I may later, if the opportunity or need arises. **

**I hope you enjoy. (((Yes, I did change my name. It's no longer, LateNightWithMe (a tribute to my old fav. show, late night with Conan O'Brien--and no, it wasn't a filthy name), but it is now KaizokuShojo))**

Cutty sat on the couch, wrapped up in a thick blanket. Before him on the coffee table was a hot cup of tea, but he hadn't drank any of it. He just sat there, staring.

He had been there for five hours already after the…incident. Tom had rescued him from the Sea King by swimming out and distracting it, almost getting eaten himself. The others had tried to talk to him, but Cutty would just sit there. Yokozuna had even tried to cheer him up, but he had just yelled at the giant frog. They didn't know what was wrong, and he just wouldn't tell them.

Iceburg looked at him from around the corner of the room. If he hadn't built that stupid ship and tried to fight a _Sea King_, of all things, he wouldn't be in this mess. He looked back in at him, and felt a little sorry for him. He sighed and walked into the room. Cutty stole a short glance at him and huffed a bit. Iceburg ignored it and sat down on the couch next to him with a sigh.

"Nma, are you okay Franky?" He asked. Cutty didn't reply; he just stared fixedly at the cup on the table like he had been. Iceburg turned a bit and sat his hand on Cutty's shoulder and looked right at him. "Franky…" He started.

Cutty's head went down quickly with a hissing intake of breath. Iceburg pulled his hand back a bit, unsure of what that was about, and looked at Cutty. Cutty shook a little bit, audibly choking back sobs.

"Franky, I—" Iceburg started again, trying to say something. He still didn't know what was wrong with him. Cutty's head jerked back up and around to glare at Iceburg. "Shut up, Icebaka!!" He shouted.

Iceburg pulled his hand away. "I-I'm sorry, I—"

"All I wanted to do," Cutty began, clenching his eyes shut and biting his lip to stop it from trembling. "was make Tom-san proud of me. And…" He paused, trying to regain his composure, "What happened? I could've…I almost…I could've gotten him hurt!!!" He shouted, diving over into Iceburg's shoulder and breaking into tears. Iceburg was quite surprised, but said nothing and put his arms around the younger child. "I…I almost died, too…I-I'm worthless!!" He sobbed.

Iceburg didn't know what to say at first. He had never seen Franky act quite like this.

"Tom-san doesn't think you're worthless." He said simply. Cutty slowed down a little in his sobs, choking on the mucus and tears before he spoke. "Th-that's easy for you to say. You're his favorite. I've never done an-anything right!!"

Iceburg shook his head. "That's not true. Tom-san loves your ships. And if he didn't think you were worth something, he wouldn't have risked his life to save you from that Sea King." Cutty shook his head again harshly. "But he SHOULDN'TVE done that!!! He could've gotten killed!!"

"But he DIDN'T!! You're okay, he's okay, he doesn't favor either of us, and you're not worthless." Iceburg said. Cutty was quiet for a moment. He got up from crying on Iceburg's shoulder and wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand vigorously. "Thanks…Bakaburg." Cutty said, with more affection towards his 'big brother' than he intended to show. Iceburg smiled. "No problem, Bakanky."

**KS: I hope you liked it! It was short, and wasn't quite what I intended it to be, but it will suffice. If anyone has any tips to improve it, or any ideas for future chapters, I'll be glad to hear them. Use a PM or a review to tell me. And, I hope you will check out my DeviantART account (it's listed as my website on my profile). As of Oct 27th, I only have two pics up and they're both of Spandam. But I hope to scan a few more things tomorrow.**

**Goodbye for now!!**


	5. Dinner

**Tom's Workers**

**Thank you, everyone, for your reviews! The more I get, the faster I'll post probably, so don't just read and not say anything! If you read this, say _something, _even if it's just, "Hi! I liked this!"**

**Thanks also, to EternallyJinxed. She gave me a great idea for future chapters that I can't wait to write. I just hope everyone's enjoying this fic!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tom, Cutty, Iceburg, Kokoro, Yokozuna, or any piece of ONE PIECE whatsoever. I have no affiliation with Toei Animation, Shueisha, or even the evil 4Kids (thank God).**

CHAPTER FIVE: Dinner

Kokoro stepped outside and looked out to the scrap yard. She laughed to herself as she saw Cutty and Iceburg going at it again, probably over something small. Cutty lunged forward at Iceburg, ready for the kill, and Tom caught him by his shirt, laughing. Yokozuna had stepped up beside her and was now watching, also.

"Gero geroh!" He laughed. Kokoro chuckled again. It was good that everything was okay after the Sea King incident. She cupped one of her hands around her mouth.

"Oi! Tom-san! Franky, Iceburg! Time for dinner!" She shouted. It did not take long for the tussle to stop as they all looked her way.

"Ah, food!" Cutty smiled, starting to run.

What he had forgotten, though, is that Tom still had him by the shirt. He ran forward, but as the slack of his shirt was taken up, he tripped forward and fell flat onto his face.

Tom just burst out laughing. "Ta ha ha HA HA ha!!"

Cutty sprang back up, his now-red face scuffed up with dirt.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY, TOM-SAN!!" He shouted defensively, making a fist. That just made Tom laugh more.

"Gyaaah!!" Cutty shouted, leaping up onto Tom angrilly. Tom held the flailing Cutty back with ease, laughing heartily.

"Nma, are you coming or not?" Iceburg asked. He was a ways ahead of them looking back.

Cutty was blank-faced for a moment while Tom wiped away the tears of his laughter.

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The three shipwrights walked in, ready to eat.

"What's for dinner, Kokoro-san?" Cutty asked. Kokoro laughed a little.

"Why don't you wash up and go find out?" She asked right back. Cutty was a bit dirty, especially since he had fallen down. Yokozuna pointed and laughed at him (Cutty's face was still red), which was responded to by a (somewhat) playful shove from the little blue-haired boy.

Cutty made his way to the bathroom, where he ran a little water in the sink and splashed it over his face. There was a knock on the door.

"Oi, Franky, are you in there?" Iceburg asked from the other side. Franky looked up.

"Yeah, I'm in here." He replied.

"Well, hurry up, I gotta go." Iceburg said. By the tone of his voice it was obvious that he meant he had to go _now_. Cutty rubbed his arms down with the running water.

"You can wait, Icebaka." He replied.

And Iceburg _did_ wait--fairly patiently--for a minute or two. Finally, he started to get irritated. "Oi, Bakanky, how long does it take to wash up?" He shouted in impatiently.

"As long as I want it to, now wait your turn!" Cutty shouted back. Iceburg gritted his teeth and sighed. "TOM-SAN!! Franky won't let me use the bathroom!" He shouted out.

Kokoro replied. "Franky! Try to hurry up, Iceburg needs to wee-wee." Iceburg turned a light shade of crimson.

"I don't need to _wee-wee_, Kokoro-san, I--" Just then, the bathroom door opened and Cutty stepped out. "It's about time, Bakanky--" Iceburg started. Cutty tossed some water onto Iceburg's pants.

"Well," Cutty laughed, "I guess Icebaka _did_ have to 'wee-wee'."

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After a short-but-fierce fight and everyone finally got washed up, they all sat down to dinner. They were having ramen.

Cutty sat down with gusto in his usual spot, stretching his arms out above his head. "Nn!! I'm really hungry!" He said with a grin. Iceburg came into the room (after changing pants, of course) and sat down in his usual spot. Tom also came in, and Yokozuna was already at the table, drumming his little froggy fingers in anticipation.

Kokoro came in and sat their bowls in front of them. Cutty and Yokozuna grinned and rubbed their hands together. "Itadakimasu!!" Cutty shouted. "Gero gero gero!!" Yokozuna shouted as well. They dug into their food, slurping up the ramen noisily.

"Tom-san..." Iceburg started. "Hm?" Tom replied with a grunt, slurping up some of the tasty noodles.

"That ship we're working on...why does it have cannons on it like it does if it's just a merchant ship?" Iceburg asked. Tom was quiet a moment.

"Are the pirates really getting that bad?" Iceburg added. Tom swallowed the food that was in his mouth. "They are." He replied simply.

"That's why the shipyards can't get any supplies, right Tom?" Cutty asked through a mouthful of ramen. Tom nodded. "That's right, Franky. But right now, I'm working on something that will save this island with a 'DON'! So don't worry about it." Tom replied, smiling. Cutty chewed on his ramen, thinking. Something new for the island...Tom-san was so great; he wondered what it was...

**Thanks for reading that chapter; I'm glad you're enjoying it! Next I think I'm going to incorporate the idea EternallyJinxed gave me, then we'll get into some other stuff.**

**If you think any thing could be added on to my stories, have any ideas for future chapters, or think anything I've done is too OoC, just tell me! I'm always willing to listen (but not to cursing, of course).**

_**Scripture for thought: For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life. **__**John 3:16**_


	6. To Market to Market

_**Tom's Workers**_

**KS: Hello, everyone! Thank you for sticking with me. I'm sorry I haven't posted a new chapter in a while; I've been very busy drawing, dealing with the holidays, and...being sick, unfortunately. I've also been on my DeviantART account a lot (21 deviations so far!). But, I'm back! If you enjoy the next two chapters, thank EternallyJinxed for giving me the idea!**

**Also, I am pleased to announce that I now have a drawing of a scene from this fic in my DA account gallery! It's from chapter three, I think...It's where Cutty & Yokozuna are playing with their spoons.**

**Well, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE or have any affiliations with Shueisha, Toei Animation, or (thank God) 4Kids Entertainment.**

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CH 6

Cutty Flam stretched a little as he walked. They were taking a little break today, because they hadn't gotten any new orders in. It would be just one of those really enjoyable, lazy days.

"Oi, Kokoro-san! I'm going to the store, do you need anything?" Cutty heard Iceburg call out. Cutty peeked his head around the corner, and there was Iceburg, standing near the door and ready to go.

"Ah, let's see, just get some veggies while you're out. The usual. Oh, and don't forget the milk this time!" Kokoro shouted back.

Cutty ran into the room. "Hey, Icebaka, I wanna go too!" He said, taking hold of Iceburg's shirt and pulling a bit. "Nma? Franky? Why don't you just stay home? I don't feel like keeping you out of trouble all day." Iceburg replied.

Cutty pouted a bit. "KOKORO-SAN!! ICEBAKA WON'T LET ME GO TO THE STORE WITH HIM!!!" He shouted. Kokoro's voiced called back from the kitchen.

"Iceburg, take Franky with you. He won't bother you that much."

Iceburg gritted his teeth a bit. "Not that much? The last time he went with me to the market, he started a fight with a pirate, knocked over a whole display of fine crystal, and fell into a lobster tank!!" "Oi!" Cutty shouted defensively. "I didn't fall in, I was pushed!" "Yeah, sure. The only person near you was a baby." Iceburg replied. "It was the BABY!!!" Cutty said, jabbing a finger at Iceburg. "The baby did it!!!"

Iceburg rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Just take him with you." Kokoro said. Iceburg sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Nma...fine. I'll take him with me." He consented.

Iceburg got ready to walk out the door, but Kokoro called after them. "Oi, Franky! Put on some pants before you leave." She shouted.

Cutty leaned forward a bit, towards the kitchen, and made a fist. "I don't wanna wear any pants!! What I have on is just fine!"

Kokoro threw shorts out, hitting Cutty in the face. "No, it's not! Pants!" She said.

Cutty Flam sighed and slipped the long shorts on over his little Speedo. "Fine! Whatever..." He grumbled irritatedly.

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Iceburg and Cutty Flam made their way to the market, Cutty just a little bit sulky since he had to wear shorts.

"Now, Franky, I don't want to have to watch you all the time, so watch what you're doing." Iceburg said. Cutty nodded a bit. "Yeah, sure." He mumbled. He looked up and noticed something.

He gasped a bit and dove to the side of the street and squatted down behind a barrel.

Iceburg looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Nma...what's wrong with you, Franky?" He asked.

Cutty glanced down the road again, then quickly ducked back behind the barrel.

"Down the road...Don't you see her? It's Jessie!" Cutty replied quickly in a loud whisper.

Iceburg blushed over a bit. "Jessie?" He asked. He looked down the street, and surely enough, it was her.

She was standing at a fish monger's stand, a basket in hand. She was a little tall for her age (which was fourteen and three quarters, by her own confession), and very beautiful. Her father was a little stingy--he tried to hold a lumber monopoly over Water Seven--but Jessie was as sweet as could be. She often came with her father whenever he came to the scrap yard island (which wasn't that often, since he did not want to be seen with Tom), and sometimes she'd just come by herself.

A jerk on his arm snapped him from his thoughts. Cutty pulled him down with him.

"Quit staring, Icebaka!! Just standing there like a statue, sheesh!!" He hissed.

"Nma...What!? I wasn't staring!!" Iceburg said quickly. "Yes you were!" Cutty snapped back. "And don't even think about it, she's mine!!" He added.

"What? Yours? You aren't even old enough to date!" Iceburg snapped.

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Are NOT!!"

"Am TOO!!!"

"Ahem...excuse me, boys?" Said a sweet little voice. Cutty and Iceburg looked up, and there stood Jessie. "What are you two fighting about now? And why are you hiding behind that barrel?" She asked with a small giggle.

Red in the face, both boys just stared at her, mouths hanging open. "Uh..." They said dumbly.

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**KS: And there's that chapter!! Forgive me if it cut off a bit abruptly, but I didn't want it to be too long. The next chapter will HOPEFULLY be out soon, but I don't really feel like doing it right now...I'm still sick, you see. **

**Hah...The most irritating thing about _this_ fic is that I keep forgetting the time table I'm working with. I mean, I have to keep up with the starting age of Cutty Flam and Iceburg, THEN I have to remember the time spans between the start until present...like the time span for the Sea Train's construction was ten years, I remember that. Then after that was...I don't remember...I should get some sleep.**

_**Scripture for Thought: If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. Proverbs 25:21 **__**((that verse always reminded me of Sanji, by the way. I like that verse))**_


	7. Competition?

_**Tom's Workers**_

**KS: Hello, everyone! Thank you for being so patient. I'm sorry I haven't posted a new chapter in a while; I've been very busy drawing, dealing with the holidays, and such. I've also been on my DeviantART account a lot (27 deviations so far, I think!). **

**If you enjoy the next few chapters, thank EternallyJinxed for giving me the idea!**

**Also, like I said last chapter, I now have a drawing of a scene from this fic in my DA gallery! It's from chapter three, I think...It's where Cutty & Yokozuna are playing with their spoons and putting them on their noses and such.**

**Well, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE or have any affiliations with Shueisha, Toei Animation, or Eiichiro Oda.**

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CH 7: Competition?

Cutty and Iceburg stared blankly from behind the barrel at Jessie as she giggled at them.

"Uh…" Cutty muttered. Iceburg nudged him sharply with his elbow as discretely as he could, both trying to get him to stand up and get out of the way.

"OW!! What was that for!?!" Cutty yelped as he stood upright, glaring at Iceburg. Iceburg just stood and smiled. "Hey, Jessie!" He said.

Jessie smiled as well. "Hello, Iceburg. Out shopping?"

"Nma…Shopping?" Iceburg said dumbly. Jessie giggled slightly again.

"Yes, shopping. You _are_ in the market district, after all…"

"Oh!" Iceburg said with a little start. "Shopping! Yeah, we're just picking some stuff up for Kokoro-san. She made me bring," Iceburg stopped here, making a slightly disgusted face, "..._Franky_ along."

Jessie just smiled. She bent over to Cutty. "And how are you, Franky?" She asked with a big smile.

Cutty blushed over slightly. "Ah, me? I'm feelin just _SUPER!!!_" He said, striking a pose. Jessie laughed a bit, standing up straight. "Hm hm, I thought so!" She turned back to Iceburg. "So, where are you going first? The vegetable stand?" She asked.

"Probably." Iceburg replied. "I don't think we're going to go to the fish market today…not without Tom-san being with us or something." He said, looking over at Cutty. Cutty took a while to notice that Iceburg was giving him a look. He was looking at a fly that was buzzing around his head.

"…What?" Cutty asked when he noticed Iceburg looking at him.

"Nma, nothing." Iceburg replied with a sigh. He looked back at Jessie. "So," He started. "Do you want to come with us? Or are you doing something else…?" He asked.

"I can come. My father's taking care of some business, and he won't be missing me." She replied with a light smile.

Cutty laughed. "Ha ha, great! You can come!" He said. He took her arm lightly in his hand and started walking. "But maybe we should stop by the Soda Fountain first. Right, Iceburg?" He said, looking back at Iceburg with a smirk as he walked away. Iceburg, after he grasped what had just happened, went after them with a start.

"Nma! Wait up!" he called.

**_KS_: Thanks everyone for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. An update was in order, I suppose. I've just been working on my DA page and on some other fanfics…Anyways, R&R! And don't forget to look at my other fics! **


	8. Kiss

**Tom's Workers**

**KS: Hello again! Thank you for being so very patient. **

**I apologize again that I haven't posted a new chapter in a while; it's because I've been very stuck as to how I was going to write this chapter (During that period of writer's block I've been working on "Miss Baroque Works". You can go read it if you want, so far a few people have liked it—I'm not so decided on it yet.) **

**If you've been enjoying the last few chapters, thank EternallyJinxed for giving me the idea! Go and read her stuff why don't you, just to thank her! The idea will continue a bit longer, of course, because it hasn't played itself out. I'd also like to throw out a big thanks to Clarobell, whom many of you may know for her fic "Toddler Troubles." She helped me with a few ideas for this part of the fic, and gave me enough inspiration to do it! **

**I'd like to say (if I haven't said this already) that this will continue until they're adults, but will end _probably_ a little before Enies Lobby—for obvious reasons. **

**Also, like I said last chapter, I now have a drawing of a scene from this fic in my DA gallery! Some of you have already seen it and liked it. You may ask specifically to see a moment from this fic drawn out and posted there if you'd like, just tell me:)**

**Well, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE or have any affiliations with Shueisha, Toei Animation, Eiichiro Oda, or ((ew...)) 4Kids Entertainment.**

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Chapter Eight: Kiss

"Alright!" Cutty said with a wide grin as he stepped out of the Soda Shop. "Let's go!"

He had a recently opened but half-drained bottle of cola clutched in his hand.

Iceburg sighed as he came out next, pocketing his wallet. He had paid for his own order--a sundae--and Jessie's also. Cutty, though he had paid for his _first_ order (an ice cream float), said he didn't have enough to pay for the _other_ cola he had ordered for a chaser, and Iceburg had ended up paying the difference. It wasn't too bad though, he thought. A bottle of cola didn't cost much, and at least he would be happy and untroublesome during the trip.

Cutty walked forward a bit, then turned towards Jessie and Iceburg.

"Oi, Icebak—" but he stopped himself short there; he had almost called Iceburg 'Icebaka' in front of Jessie. "--Iceburg, where are we going next?" he asked, taking a sip of his cola.

Jessie hadn't noticed, but Iceburg had. Iceburg though wasn't about to bring it up or call him anything back; not only would it be juvenile and there would be no point in it, but it wouldn't be good form in front of Jessie.

He looked around a bit. "I think it'd be best to pick up Kokoro-san's groceries. There's not much else to do, anyways." he replied.

Jessie walked up next to him, looking as dainty and pretty as a rich man's daughter should, smiling.

"Just be sure you get the vegetables last," she said. "You wouldn't want them to wilt from the heat before you got them home."

Cutty was a little bothered by the proximity of Iceburg and Jessie, especially since she had walked up that close of her own free will, and his attention fled from the conversation. He so wrapped up in planning some grandeur trick to recapture her attention that he was quite startled when the conversation turned to him.

"...and it was _so_ funny. Right, Franky?" Jessie asked. Cutty 'came to' with a jump and stared blankly for a moment. "Uh..." he muttered.

Well, that certainly wouldn't do.

Whatever the outcome, he decided that something in his typical "Franky Super-Style" would do the trick. He grinned widely and nodded a bit, planting his feet apart, setting one hand on his hip and jutting the cola-holding hand outward in a super fashion.

"You bet, Jess!" he said.

Jessie giggled a bit; she always did when he called her "Jess."

Cutty, satisfied with that, went back to his own devices. The thought _did_ occur to him that perhaps he _should_ try listening right now, in case the scenario repeated itself, but as usual he paid no attention to such things as those flitting little thoughts. At least, not when they were about such things as caution.

"Nma," Iceburg started, looking at his watch, "We'd better go. Kokoro-san's eventually going to wonder what's keeping us."

Jessie nodded in agreement. "Mm-hm. You two don't mind that I'm coming along, do you?" She asked.

Iceburg and Cutty smiled, though they tried to douse their excitement a little.

"Of course not!" Iceburg replied. Cutty pumped his fist into the air. "No problem!" he said.

Jessie laughed a bit. "Fufun, all right then! Let's go, shall we?" she said.

And they set off for the market once more.

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Cutty reached into his pants pocket--it _was_ sort of a good thing that Kokoro-san had made him wear the pants, he thought (though he wouldn't admit it). He had a few beri tucked away, and tried by fumbling with them discreetly to count them. As he did it occurred to him that not every bill might be of the same amount, so counting them by volume was off little value. He stopped trying to count them and decided that he had somewhere around three beri. He would have even less if he hadn't hid the last few bills and said he couldn't pay for the cola. He didn't like that he had said he hadn't any more money, but he hadn't realized that he was so low on cash.

He probably should've known, though, since he usually didn't have much--if any--beri on him at all. But, it was necessary to keep at least some of his money, because his plans for it were good indeed.

He had originally planned to talk Iceburg into going to the Soda Shop and buying a lot of cola, but when Jessie showed up all that changed. He was now going to buy her flowers.

He looked over to the two, who were talking again.

"Ah, Iceburg, I gotta go and pick something up, I'll meet back with you in a little while." he said.

Iceburg looked at him with a bit of surprise. "Nma, what? Where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm just going to get something, there's nothing wrong with that." Cutty replied.

"Fine, go, but be careful." Iceburg said, turning to resume his conversation with Jessie.

Cutty grinned a bit and started off. He had to be fairly quick; he didn't want Iceburg and Jessie to get done shopping before he got back with the flowers. He ran as quickly as he could without much fear of working up a sweat (he didn't want to sweat of course!) towards the only flower shop he knew.

At such a speed and since he was already in the shopping district, it did not take long for him to get there. He went into the shop and took just a moment to look around. It didn't take long for him to get just a little uncomfortable...it was all lacey and pretty in there, with a distinct potpourri of scents. He walked up with a little more caution to the counter.

A middle-aged man sat behind the desk, and was bent slightly over a paper. He too seemed out of place in here--more so than even he did.

"Ah, excuse me..." Cutty started. The man looked up. "Oh, welcome! What can I do for you?" He asked.

"I'd like to buy some flowers for someone..." Cutty replied, looking around.

"Oh, flowers, they make such a niffty little gift, don't they? Well, for starters we have these roses--aren't they lovely?--and it costs 20 beri for a dozen." The man said in a salesy fashion.

"T-twenty beri!?!" Cutty exclaimed. He begun to sweat a little; flowers cost more than he had anticipated. "Do you...have anything _cheaper_?" He asked hopefully.

The man seemed to catch his drift and nodded a little bit.

"Well, we have these pansies; they're fairly cheap I think."

Cutty shook his head. "No, no pansies." he said sternly. Pansies were okay for a girl, but what would it show for the guy that bought them for her?

"What else have you got?"

The man looked about the room. "There are always daisies."

"Daisies?"

"Yes, they quite pretty and they're not expensive at all. A bit romantic, too, but not so much that you're _screaming_ commitment." the man replied.

Cutty wasn't sure about what that last part meant, but it sounded good to him. "All right, how much are they?" he asked.

"Eh...how about three beri for ten? And I'll throw in a few Baby's Breath flowers for good measure." the flower shop keeper replied. Cutty nodded, that sounded good--though he didn't know what the heck a Baby's Breath was. "Alright, that's great."

Cutty quickly pulled the money out, counted it (thankfully is _was_ three beri), and slammed it onto the counter. The man went off and got the flowers, wrapped them in cellophane (and added a ribbon for free, at Cutty's request), and gave them to the boy.

Flowers in hand, he quickly set out to find where Iceburg and Jessie had gotten to.

He was again running. He knew about where they would be going--he had been shopping before, of course--and so knew where to look.

He thought as he went about how he would deliver the bouquet to Jessie, and how she would simply go all feminine and cover him with kisses, and he imagined Iceburg's absolute embarrassment and rage--embarrassment that he had neglected to get anything but a soda for her and rage in that he had lost the girl.

Cutty was grinning broadly with the thought and even blushing quite a bit as he turned the corner to go to the next place, but was stopped as soon as he did.

Iceburg and Jessie were sitting on a bench at the end of the street, kissing.

Cutty stopped cold, and the flowers slipped out of his dead fingers and onto the walkway. Cutty was still a moment, his breath caught in his throat.

His breaths then grew quick and short and he turned and kicked the carefully-bought bouquet that now lay on the ground.

In doing so, his foot scraped the stone of the street and the tears came. He blamed the tears on the pain of the skinned foot, but that wasn't it--and he knew it.

He ran back around the corner before he could be spotted and to get away from that scene.

He slammed his fist into the wall. "I-Icebaka!!!" He shouted through sobs. He didn't worry about Iceburg hearing him, because he was far enough away. He sniffled and sobbed for quite a while, his heart shattered. He looked over at the flowers on the ground through his teary eyes, grabbed them, and slumped against the building to sit down. He pulled one of the ten daisies from its pretty light-blue cellophane, sat the others beside him, and proceeded to pluck its petals.

"S-she loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not..." he sobbed. He continued until there was but one petal left. His hand ceased as it reached to pluck it.

"She l-loves me...not..." he choked out. He tossed the barren flower into the nearby canal, the poor rejected and abused thing floating miserably on the surface.

Cutty pulled his legs up to his chest and put his arms around them. He sat there a while, pondering his next move. A weak thought ran through his head that maybe, maybe they had just been whispering to each other. He had been, after all, fairly far away and could've mistaken it for...but that's as far as the thought went. He had the image burned in memory; of course he knew what they were doing. And they had been holding hands, too.

He couldn't stay here forever, though. He had to go somewhere. He thought about just going back home right then and crawling into bed to die, but then Kokoro-san would start asking him where Iceburg was and why he came back early. She'd be able to tell easily that there was something wrong. He could just run away, but he didn't want to do that.

He looked over at the flowers. Three beri. He had spent all the money he had on them just to give them to _her, _and _he_ had to steal her away. He picked up the bundle and threw them also into the canal to forever sleep with their brother. Alas, they too floated on the surface, seemingly to remind him of his heartbreak out of revenge. Cutty glared at them a moment, then stood. He wiped his eyes and nose thoroughly, and tried to compose himself as much as possible.

He looked into a window and saw that he looked quite a disheveled and unruly mess, but Iceburg wouldn't think too much of that. All that worried him were the glassy eyes. He tried his best to dry them, and he made his way to the corner with a heavy and dreading heart.

He peered around, expecting that they would still be kissing but praying to God they wouldn't and was relieved to see them still sitting there holding hands, but not kissing.

He walked quickly over to them, almost hoping to shame Iceburg in some way, and tried to play it as if he didn't care. He felt so shaky he was sure it wasn't working, but he tried to do it at least.

"Nma, Franky, you're back?" Iceburg asked. He looked him over.

"What...happened?" he added.

Cutty stuck his nose up in the air. "N-nothing." he replied in a rather shaky and phlegmy voice. Iceburg blinked a few times. He then stood, and Jessie did too. Iceburg picked the bags of groceries up off of the bench (thus having to let go of Jessie's hand).

"Are you sure, Franky?" Jessie asked. Cutty bit his lip a bit and turned, not replying. He had decided not to talk to them but once if he could, and he had already said something. He hated, though, not talking to Jessie.

"Are you sure?" She asked with concern in her voice--the concern of a friend. Cutty wanted to nod or something, but refrained and crossed his arms.

Iceburg looked a bit worried as well. "Jessie..." he began. Jessie turned to him.

"You'd better go on...I think it's time for Franky and I to go home." he told her. Jessie nodded a bit after a little hesitation and went. "Bye, Iceburg." she said. She looked at Cutty again with concern.

"Bye...Franky." she added. Cutty tried--and barely succeeded--to conquer the tears again.

Jessie walked away, and Iceburg turned to the matters at hand. "Oi, Franky, are you sure you're okay?" He asked. No reply.

"Are you not even going to talk to me?"

No reply.

". . . .Did something happen?" he asked. Cutty filled with rage. He wanted to yell at Iceburg, wanted to chew him out and stuff, but held everything in and gave a small reply: he shook his head 'no'. Iceburg didn't feel very comforted at that, but at least it was something.

"...Alright...Let's go home." he said reluctantly. Perhaps he would tell Kokoro-san or Tom-san what was wrong, or maybe even have worked it off by the time they got there. He started off, and Cutty followed.

He followed at a distance off to Iceburg's right, and still had his arms crossed at his chest and would _not_ look at him. Iceburg rounded the corner and stopped so he could talk to him again, but he just kept going. What was _wrong_ with him? Iceburg was actually worried. Then he happened to look over and notice a bouquet of flowers floating in the canal, swept against the sidewalk by the wakes of Yagara bulls. His eye fell on a little note attached, and they managed to read what was written despite the slightly water-blotted ink: "_To Jessie, my love, From Franky, your super-man_."

Iceburg's heart sank as he realized what had happened.

Cutty had saw them kissing. He felt horrible now...he knew Franky liked her, too, knew that he should've left it at 'friendship'...what he did was mean. He hadn't meant for it to be cruel by any means, but it was. He left the flowers and caught back up with Cutty. He didn't say anything, but walked alongside him. He would have to deal with this later; there would be no getting through to him now.

But, he did know one thing: he would have to be just friends with Jessie, and make sure Cutty knew it. As much as he hated to think it, that is what he had to do. He _really_ liked Jessie, probably more so than Cutty did, but that wasn't the issue. He had to do it. They were like brothers…

For Franky, he would leave Jessie.

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**KS: Okay, there was that chapter. The next one and all from here on out, we will hear nothing more from Jessie. Sorry it wasn't better :(**

**Isn't brotherly love grand though? They may not be brothers, but they are just like it (a major reason why I think Franky X Iceburg is completely revolting...among other reasons just as strong). Anyways, I hope to get back into the swing of things. I'll soon be getting volume 37 of ONE PIECE from Japan, and that should give me inspiration for this fic (I hope). Right now I can't seem to do ANYTHING that's satisfactory to me, and it's very depressing. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed it. **

**(Oh, and also, I _did_ have an alternate scene for the flower shop that I wrote at the same time I was watching "Monty Python's Flying Circus," but it was too unfitting for the fic to leave in, so it was scrapped. XD )**


	9. It's a Cold

**Tom's Workers**

**KS: Hello again, my friends and readers! I hope you're enjoying! I think you'll enjoy the next few chapters and whatnot...we're starting a new idea. I've got a big list of ideas written out, and I'm always getting more (like last night I got one from Terverius, a friend of mine from DeviantART), so hopefully this will have good direction to it.**

**But, before I start on this chapter, I'm gonna do a little rant.**

**I see that there about five or six hundred hits on Tom's Workers, and there are only around twenty-five reviews. I don't know if that's because you people don't like it or aren't that far or something, but I _do_ know that--since a large number continued to read--that you _wanted_ to read. That probably means you like this story. But I don't know if you do...why should I continue to let you see it? Fanfiction is kind of like a movie. You pay to see a movie. For a fanfiction, you review. I appriciate reviews. Just review, please, even if it's unsigned (but if it's unsigned, I won't reply). To make it more enticing to review, I'm offering a SPECIAL STORY to whomever reviews--that includes people who have already reviewed. It might be put up on this site eventually for everyone to see, but if it is it won't be for a while. Think of it as a reward for reviewing!!**

**And I'm still open to requests for drawing scenes from this fic. I've got one so far on DeviantART (by the way, check out my DA gallery--it's my profile's homepage link), and I can do more. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I have no connections or affiliations with Toei Animation, Shueisha/Jump Comics, or Eiichiro Oda.**

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Chapter Nine: It's the Cold

Iceburg walked up to Cutty as he lay motionless on his futon. Cutty had slept yet again through Kokoro-san's wake-up call, and had even taken a very drowsy and weak swing at Tom-san when he had tried to wake him up.

Instead of the normally sprawled-out and noisy Cutty that he was used to though, he was almost completely covered by his blanket and not a snore could be heard. Iceburg paid this no mind though and nudged the blue-haired boy with his foot.

"Oi, Franky, wake up." he said. He waited for the usual 'Nn...lemme sleep Bakaburg' or something like that, but all that came from the little lump of covers was a small mutter.

Iceburg cocked his brow a bit, and did it again. "Franky, it's time to eat, get up."

There was a little movement under the covers.

"Nn..." Cutty mumbled.

His head poked out slightly, and Iceburg looked at him with a start. He was a bit red in the face and didn't exactly look well.

"Oi, Franky, are you okay?" Iceburg asked. Cutty's eyes opened a little bit and he sneered a little. "Leave me alone, Bakaburg..." he said hoarsely. Iceburg knelt down and put his hand on Cutty's forehead. He turned towards the kitchen. "Kokoro-san! I think Franky has a fever!"

Kokoro stuck her head around the corner. "A fever?" She asked. She walked into the room and over to Cutty, where she then proceeded to put her hand on his head as well.

"Mm, I think you're right." She said. "Do you feel sick, Franky?"

Cutty moaned a bit and coughed. He did feel sick, but if he didn't get up he wouldn't be able to work on his newest Battle Franky, and Kokoro-san would keep him cooped up inside all day for sure.

"I feel super today, Kokoro-san..." he replied with a cough. Kokoro didn't look convinced.

"Mm-hm. Well, whether you feel super or not, you're burning up with fever. I bet it's that cold bug going around." She said. Cutty groaned as he let his head fall back onto his pillow. It hadn't worked.

"Well, I don't feel _great_, but I feel good enough to go outside and work." he said as heartily as he could.

"Work on your Battle Franky, you mean." Iceburg said, rolling his eyes. "You never help Tom-san and me."

Cutty would have normally sprang onto him and tried to punch him at that, but all he managed to do was sit up quickly and point a finger. "You take that back, Bakaburg!!" he said, falling back onto his pillow weakly after he did. Kokoro looked at him, shaking her head a bit.

"It may even be the flu. Here, Franky, I'll go and fix you some soup." She said, standing and walking off to the kitchen. Yokozuna had come up at this point, a worried look on his face. "Gero geroh?" he croaked, concerned. He reached out a hand and put it on Cutty's forehead, but quickly drew it back and grabbed it.

"Gero gero!!" he cried out, dancing about. Aparently Cutty's head was very warm...

Cutty sat up again and waved everyone away. "Would everybody stop touching my head?" he asked. He turned his legs out and got up out of bed. "See? I'm fine--" he said, getting interupted by a huge sneeze that slammed him backwards onto his butt. Iceburg and Yokozuna couldn't help but laughing, and Cutty shot them a glare.

"Franky, go back to bed. Your soup's almost done, I'll bring it to you." Kokoro called from the kitchen. Cutty pushed out his lip, pouting. "But Kokoro-san! I'm fine! I'll be in there in a minute to eat it!"

"Oh no you won't! You'll stay in there!" Kokoro called back.

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Cutty had managed to get Kokoro-san to let him eat at the table, but he still couldn't convince her that he wasn't sick. How could he when there was a line of snot coming from his nose? He could wipe that away, but he was coughing and sneezing a lot, too. Couldn't do anything about that. And he had a fever of 99.8 degrees. It wasn't _too_ high, but high enough he couldn't hide it. And it was climbing.

He was still seated at the table, his chin resting on the surface as he looked dejectedly at the bowl of soup in front of him. Being sick was no fun. When he was sick, he couldn't go out or do anything, and when he could go out he had to button up his shirt and wear pants so whatever he had didn't get worse. And Kokoro-san wouldn't let him have any cola, either. That was the last nail in the lid of the coffin, the last straw on the camel's back...being sick was the worst. He got up and sauntered over to the window to look out.

Tom-san and Iceburg were out there, working hard but enjoying it. Yokozuna was out there, too, so there was no one inside to give him company but Kokoro-san. He looked over at his latest Battle Franky; it was just calling to him to go out there and work on it. He banged his forehead against the glass irritatedly.

"Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored." He muttered, saying the word every time he hit his head against the window.

As he wiped his nose on his arm, he got an idea. He looked around quickly; no Kokoro-san in sight! He made his way to the door quietly, buttoning up his shirt and picking up some shorts to put on (he wasn't going to overdo it with pants). If Tom-san or Icebaka asked, he'd just say that Kokoro-san let him come out after all. He walked backwards for a while, keeping his eyes on the kitchen so he'd know if Kokoro was coming. As he walked backwards, he bumped into a table.

His eyes widened, and knowing what table it was, he spun around quickly and grabbed a small vase just before it it the floor. He sighed with releif, and that's when he heard the table itself fall with a clatter. He snapped around and righted it and sat the vase back in it's place as well. He turned to the kitchen and froze, listening.

No noise; either Kokoro wasn't in there or she hadn't heard.

Cutty breathed a sigh of releif and continued on his 'mission.'

He opened the door carefully and ducked outside. Good! Now he was in the clear, for the most part. He watched the door for a little bit as he walked away, wanting to be sure he could either run or hide if Kokoro-san came out after him. After being _sure_ she hadn't noticed he left, he turned with a pleased smile on his face to go and take care of his new Battle Franky.

When he did that, he almost ran straight into Kokoro-san.

"Franky..." She started. Cutty jumped up with a start.

"Ah! Kokoro-san!! I didn't see you there..." he started. Kokoro put her hands on her hips.

"Now, Franky, you're sick. I told you that you couldn't come out. Now what would Tom-san say if he saw you out here?" she asked. Cutty thought for a minute. What _would_ Tom-san say?

"TAHa ha ha ha ha!!." he replied. Yep, that's definetely what Tom-san would do.

Kokoro smiled a bit at that. "Hm hm...well, you still have to go back inside. I just called the doctor, and _you_ need to be in bed."

"Aw, but Kokoro-san..." Cutty whined.

"No buts. Go."

Cutty moped all the way back to bed. He didn't like being sick, and especially didn't like doctors. They were always poking, and prodding, and asking questions...telling him to stop chasing after Sea Kings, telling him to cut back on the cola...

But, there wasn't much he could do about it. He crawled down onto his futon and under the warm covers, awaiting the coming doctor visit.

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**KS: There's that chapter. Review, because like I said, I'll send by e-mail a special story. NOTE: if you review annonymously, you must leave your e-mail if you want the story. Don't expect to get it unless you do that!) Here's a clue as to what the special story's about: elephant. And yes, it pertains to ONE PIECE about the same area as this story. If, for some reason, you _don't_ want the story, you'll have to tell me in your review. I may do this every now and then for my fics and then compile them later into a sectioned fanfic itself (but like I said, not until later, so if you want it YOU MUST REVIEW).**

**Later! ;)**


	10. Shot!

_**Tom's Workers**_

**KS: Here we are, chapter ten. I hope you enjoy it! On and on we go as I write what I hope is going to be one of my more memorable fanfictions...it certainly seems to be my more popular one. **

**All right, last chapter I promised a special story to whomever reviews, but not all of you have your e-mail displayed! So, I couldn't send it to you. If you want it, you'll have to either display it or send it to me. Sorry about that! **

**Are you enjoying the story so far? Good! Well, it's good if you said yes. XD**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE or any of its affiliated characters. I am in no way connected to Toei Animation, Shueisha/Jump Comics, Eiichiro Oda, or even the evil 4Kids Entertainment (who still hold the license to OP in N. America, and unfortunately are still running episodes...?)**

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Cutty sat on a stool, waiting. The doctor would be arriving any time now, and Kokoro-san had told him to wait there. He shivered a bit at the cold in the room; he didn't know why, but it always felt colder when waiting for a doctor.

He could hear Tom-san, Iceburg, and Yokozuna in the dining room eating lunch, and his stomach growled a bit. It seemed like he hadn't eaten in days; that little bit of soup he had eaten earlier was long gone. He pushed the thought of hunger from his mind, since there was nothing he could do about it at the time.

He looked down at his feet, wiggling his toes and swinging his legs a little.

Waiting was _so_ boring.

If this doctor was going to show, he'd better just get there and get it over with.

Just then he heard a knock at the door.

Cutty gulped...maybe he shouldn't have thought that.

He could hear the door open, the doctor's greeting and Kokoro-san's, and the door closing again. He heard the loud but mixed voices in the next room and footsteps growing closer.

Kokoro then came into the room, followed by the doctor.

"Franky, the doctor's here now; listen to what he says. We'll be right out here." she said, showing the doctor in then leaving.

The doctor walked over to where Cutty was sitting, smiling at him with a kind old face. Cutty, on the other hand, watched him carefully.

"So," the doc began, "You've got a cold, eh? Let's just have a look."

He sat his large, black doctor's bag on the floor next to him as he sat down on a stool in front of Cutty. He then put his hand on the boy's forehead.

"Ah...You feel as if you've got a fever." he said. He reached over into his medicine bag. "Kokoro-san said you did. Well, pull down those pants and bend over." the doctor said.

Cutty's eyes went big. "Eh----!?" he asked, his hands shooting behind him. The doctor continued to rummage through his bag. "You heard me, down with them."

Cutty squeezed his eyes shut. "Take Iceburg instead! He's more your type!" he shouted.

There was a still and awkward silence as Cutty opened his eyes slowly. The doctor was sitting there, staring at him wide-eyed with a thermometer in his hand. Cutty turned a deep red with embarrassment.

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Iceburg looked towards the room that Cutty was in questioningly.

"What do you think was the deal with that…?" He asked. Kokoro looked over to Tom, who was about to die laughing. "I'm sure everything's just fine in there…" She said. She seemed like she was trying to keep from laughing a bit, too. Yokozuna was laughing hard, that was for sure.

Iceburg sighed a bit. "Nma…he's so weird, even in a normal situation…"

Kokoro nodded a little. "Ah…But he's a good boy."

Tom nodded, a little red in the face from all of the laughing. "He is. He doesn't normally get sick, either…I wonder what happened."

Kokoro nodded. "He hasn't been quite himself lately, has he?" she asked.

Iceburg looked a little uncomfortable. It was since the…incident…while they were out shopping that he hadn't been quite himself…he hoped Kokoro-san didn't ask him about it…

"Well, I suppose he's fine." Kokoro said. "We'll just see what the doctor says."

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After the unpleasantness of the thermometer, the rest of the examination progressed. The doctor looked in both of his ears, and then his nose.

"All right, Franky, now open your mouth and say 'ah'." the doctor said. Cutty's jaw didn't budge.

"Are your hands clean?" Cutty asked. A perfectly legitimate question it was, too, since the doctor had just taken Cutty's temperature. The doctor sighed, laughing a little.

"They're clean, don't worry."

Cutty then--still somewhat reluctantly--opened his mouth. "Ah..." he muttered.

The doctor looked in, poking about with his tongue depressor (which Cutty gagged on several times).

"Nn...tsk tsk..." the doctor sighed. "I'm no dentist, Franky, but I think you'd better cut down on the colas…"

Cutty closed his mouth quickly, biting down on the doctor's fingers.

-crunch-

"Ow!" the doctor yelped, yanking his fingers out and shaking them a little bit.

Cutty glared at the doctor. "Tell Kokoro-san that and you're mine." he said threateningly. The doctor stared a minute, uncertain if this boy was joking or not. He smiled and laughed nervously.

"All right...we'll leave that up to you." he said. He then pulled out a stethoscope.

"Now I have to listen to your breathing."

He leaned over and sat the cold stethoscope against Cutty's chest.

"Hsst!" the boy gasped. The doctor laughed.

"Cold, eh? Yeah, they're always like that. Now, I'm going to need you to take a deep breath for me."

Cutty obliged, breathing in deeply a few times. The doctor moved the stethoscope a little.

"Do it again." He said. So, Cutty breathed again. This happened a few times, the doctor moving it across his front and back.

After all that was done, the doctor sat up straight and took the stethoscope off.

"Well, Franky," he started, "I think you've got a cold, yes; but I think you've got some allergies in there as well."

Cutty stared at him. "So what does that mean?" he asked. The doctor reached into his bag again, his hand emerging with a needle and a little glass bottle full of liquid.

"I think I'm going to need to give you an antihistamine shot."

Cutty's eyes grew wide at the sight of the needle.

He wasn't _afraid_ of needles, no…just shots. He didn't like shots.

Kokoro-san had made him get one a while back to protect against something called tetanus, and it wasn't pleasant. He swallowed, and the doctor noticed him as he eyed the hypodermic nervously.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Cutty glanced around the room as the doctor stuck the needle into the little glass jar and extracted the medicine. Options, options, what were his…ah! That was it!!

The doc came at him now with the needle, and quick as a flash Cutty sprang up and knocked his stool over at him. "YOU AIN'T STICKIN' THAT THING IN ME, YOU DIRTY OLD MAN!!" He shouted, running off.

"Eh, what the…!?" The doctor gasped. He looked up, and off Cutty went.

"O-oi! Wait a minute!" he said. He jumped up and started after him. They ran in circles around chairs, beds, and the upturned stools.

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Iceburg spit out the tea he was drinking. What did he just say!?

Tom-san started laughing again, and Yokozuna was rolling on the floor.

Iceburg sighed. "Bakanky…"

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"HOLD STILL!!" the doctor shouted.

"GYAAH!!" Cutty shouted, leaping over the couch. The doctor, who was too old to follow suit, ran around it. "It's good for you! Hold still!!"

"NO!!!" Cutty gasped. Finally, he got cornered behind a table.

"Ah ha!" the doctor laughed. Cutty tried ducking to the left—no good. To the right—even worse. Over top? No……

"Heheh…got you!!" The doctor laughed, leaping over the table. Cutty tried to dodge off to the side, but the doc caught him by the arm and managed to jab the needle into it.

"EYOW!!!" Cutty exclaimed. He turned to the doctor, who still had him by the arm, and jabbed his finger at him. "Oi, oi!!! Baka!! You could've missed the vein!!!" he snapped.

"I had to do something, you wouldn't hold still!!" the doctor snapped back.

Then, Kokoro stepped into the room.

"I heard all the noise and I thought I'd come see how things were going—" she started, stopping when she saw the scene. Things and furniture were strewn and knocked over, and the doctor was lying across the table on his stomach holding Cutty by the arm, and Cutty was pushing the doc back by his forehead.

"……Ah…" she muttered, staring.

"Ge…roh?" Yokozuna croaked. The doc and Cutty stared back for a minute.

The doc then got up, brushing himself off. "All right then, I think I'm done here."

Cutty looked at the hole in his arm, rubbing it a bit.

"…Don't I get a lollypop?" He asked innocently.

"…………"

Everyone stared at him blankly.

"Yes…I suppose you get a lollypop…" The doctor said slowly. He reached into his bag and pulled one out, then handed it to the boy. Cutty reached out to take it, but got a strange look on his face.

"Naa…I don't feel so—zzzzzzzzzzzzz………" Cutty started, abruptly falling over onto his face, asleep.

"Ah! Franky!" Kokoro gasped, going over to the boy.

"Ah…there it goes. Antihistamines will do that to you…" the doc said, setting his hands on his hips. "As much as I gave him, he may be out for a while. You can try to wake him up for dinner, but I don't know if it'll work. I'll send the bill later…" he said, walking out and rubbing his head exasperatedly. Kokoro took Cutty over to his futon and tucked him in.

"Fufu…Goodnight, Franky." She chuckled as the boy settled into his covers and started sucking on his thumb. It was something he was in the habit of doing when in a very deep sleep—though he wasn't aware of it. He was very cute when he was like this, Kokoro thought. She quietly made her way out of the room, turning off the lights and closing the door after her.

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**KS: Hello! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Hm…now I want a lollypop….joke.**

**I want a Reeses peanut butter cup. XD**

**The Spanda reward fic will be on hiatus this chapter, as I have no free time to write the next part at this time!**

**Now, like I said, not all of you had your e-mail displayed, so if you didn't get it last chapter or haven't got it yet, say so and I'll send ch. 1 of the reward fic your way! Come on, you don't wanna miss out:)**

**Ah, and I have a strong urge to draw the scene where Cutty asks for a lollypop, though I may not be able to. So…keep a look out on my DA page for it.**

**Keep reading & Reviewing! **


	11. Hungry

_**Tom's Workers**_

**KS: Here we go with Chapter eleven! Yay! Okay…I hope you enjoy it. First of all, I'd like to throw another thanks out to Clarobell. She has helped with this fic in various places, and I especially like one of the ideas she gave me for this fic. :)**

**Nn…this one is continuing on sort of where the last chapter left off. Sort of. Anyways, read and you'll get it. It's just a cute little chappie, like most of 'em!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE or any of its affiliated characters. I am in no way connected to Toei Animation, Shueisha/Jump Comics, Eiichiro Oda, or even the evil 4Kids Entertainment (who still hold the license to OP in N. America, and unfortunately are still running episodes...?)**

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Cutty Flam stretched lazily, poking his head out from under the covers. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and lay there a while, trying to get his morning bearings.

Wait…

It was too bright to be morning.

He sat up and looked about; Tom-san and Iceburg where nowhere to be seen, and it was very quiet. He wondered what he was still doing in bead, but then he remembered: the shot. It had made him so sleepy, he hadn't even got to eat supper that past night. He remembered Kokoro-san helping him to the dinner table, but he had fallen over asleep into his ramen. And now he was here, in his bed. They must have brought him back in here.

His stomach then woke up with a roar, ravenously hungry. He hadn't eaten very much for lunch that previous day, either. He looked around and contemplated calling for Kokoro-san, but she was probably at the market at this time of day. Tom-san, Iceburg, and Yokozuna were probably out working…he'd have to do it himself. He really didn't feel like getting up. Kokoro-san might not be home, but it was worth a shot calling for her.

"Oi!!! Kokoro-san!!" he shouted. No answer, not even a stir.

Cutty slouched back…he _really_ didn't feel like getting up; he was still pretty tired.

"_Gururururururururu…_" his stomach rumbled, demanding food.

"Nn…" Cutty groaned as he got up. He'd have to do it himself…

He trudged to the kitchen, sniffling a bit from his stuffy nose. He went to the refrigerator and opened the door, but there was nothing in there that was already made. It figured…Between Tom-san, Iceburg, Yokozuna, and himself, leftovers were a rare occurance.

He stood there with the refrigerator door wide open, not caring that he was letting all of the cold air out. What did he want to eat? If he had to do it himself, it might as well be something good, but it should also be something _easy_…something _simple_…

A sandwich would be good. Yeah…a sandwich and a cola.

He reached into the frige and pulled out all the necsicary things—the jar of mayonnaise, some butter, ham, a slice of cheese, and the mustard—and closed the door with his hip. He then took the foodstuffs over to the counter where the loaf of bread was and spread it all out. "All right," he said to himself, "Now what do I do?"

He decided the best place to start with a sandwich was of course with the bread. He took two slices of bread, warmed up the oven, and sat them in there to toast. Then, he waited patiently for them to get done. Well, fairly patiently. He kept opening the oven to check on them, and they weren't getting brown at all. Not even a little. So…he found something to occupy himself. There was a little notepad on the refrigerator door to write down stuff they were out of, and he began to doodle on it. He wasn't exactly an artist, but he thought he was doing good. He drew a little picture of Tom-san, Kokoro-san, Yokozuna, and himself all together in front of a big ship with the words "Battle Franky" written on it, and a giant Sea King was in behind it, dead. Off to the side was Bakaburg, all gloomy since he had never done anything so great.

Cutty stood back and smiled at the little work of art, thinking on how Kokoro and Tom-san would be proud of it, and then he smelled something burning….

With wide eyes he ran over to the oven and opened the door, and surely enough his bread had toasted—it was jet black. He reached in without thinking to put on oven mitts and pulled them out.

"Ooh, ouch, hot hot!!" he shouted, juggling them over to the trash bin where he angrilly threw them away. "Stupid bread." He muttered.

Several tries and almost a whole loaf of bread later, he had two slices of nicely-toasted bread all ready for the next step. While they were still warm, he spread just a little bit of butter over one of them, and decided to put the cheese on the other. He picked up the cheese and proceeded to remove the little plastic wrapper from it. He got it off, but unfortunately, it was quite staticly charged and would _not_ let go of him as he tried to throw it away. A mild look of frustration crossed his face, and he tried shaking it off.

That only caused it to come back and cling to the rest of his arm. The mild look of frustration escalated, and he shook it harder (he couldn't peel it off because the cheese was still in his other hand). When he saw that the wrapper was _not_ going to go down without a fight, Cutty got serious.

"Stupid cheese wrapper, get OFFA ME!!!" he shouted, flailing his arm wildly over the trash can. Finally, he stopped, breathing heavily with frustration. As he stood there, the wrapper simply fell off and floated gently to the floor.

"**…………**"

"STUPID CHEESEWRAPPER!!!" he shouted again, jumping angrily onto it. As slick as it was, it caused his feet to go out from under him and he fell flat onto his back.

As he lay there, the wrapper floated gently down onto his head.

"Stupid wrapper…" he muttered. He stood, letting the piece of plastic fall from his head and into the trash (thankfully it had gotten _quite enough_ of taunting the poor boy and fell in without having to be coerced).

He looked over at the cheese slice still in his hand, contemplating whether to use it or not.

He decided…not.

"STUPID CHEESE!!" He said, throwing it. Just that time, the door opened and Iceburg walked into the room.

"Nma, Franky, what are you doing—" and the cheese hit him smack in the face.

"Oh, hey Bakabug." Franky said (he had a stuffy nose…'Bakaburg' didn't always come out). Iceburg peeled the cheese off of his face disgustedly.

"Ugh…what are you doing out of bed, Bakanky?" he asked.

Cutty put the ham on the bread and added a few more things. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm making a sandwich." He replied. He sat one slice of bread onto the other.

"Ah, that's right, you didn't eat last night." Iceburg said as he tossed away the cheese.

"Nope." Cutty replied, going over to the frige again and getting a cola.

"I could've made you something." Iceburg said. Cutty turned to him.

"Really…?" He asked. He looked at the small sandwich he had made for himself as his stomach growled again. He looked over at Iceburg. "Could you…make me another one?" he asked. Iceburg wiped the cheese residue from his face, nodding.

"Sure." He replied. Cutty smiled. "Thanks." He said, turning and taking the small sandwich over to the table to eat it.

Iceburg smiled as he watched him go off, and turned to the task of making another sandwich.

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Iceburg had went above and beyond just making another sandwich. He had known how hungry the little speedoed boy could get when he missed two meals, so he had made him a _special_ sandwich. He sat the toasted top slice onto the sandwich, and added one of those little cocktail toothpick things as a finisher. He sat it on a plate, placed a folded napkin on the plate next to it, and took it in there to him.

But Cutty wasn't in the dining room anymore. He turned the corner, and surely enough, Cutty was on the couch asleep. All that remained of the first sandwich were crumbs, half of which weren't on the plate but were on Cutty's face.

Iceburg smiled a bit; Cutty was still all drugged up from the shot.

He walked in there and sat the sandwich on the coffee table and sat down next to Cutty on the couch. He sat his hand on the boy and tried to gently shake him awake.

"Oi…Franky…Here's your other sandwich." He said. Cutty only mumbled and rolled over slightly. Iceburg rolled his eyes.

"Franky, food—" he started again, but was cut off. Cutty rolled over onto Iceburg, snoring lightly. "…Ah…?" Iceburg mumbled.

He tried to nudge the boy off lightly, but that didn't work. He tried a little more forcefully (but still gently!), but Cutty only latched on to him.

"Oh…great…" Iceburg groaned. Just then, he heard the door open, and Kokoro walked in. She came into the room and when she saw the scene, she laughed.

"Funfun…He's still drowsy, ne?" She said. Iceburg didn't look pleased.

"Kokoro-san," he whispered, "get him off of me!"

"Oh, let him sleep." She replied. "It isn't going to hurt anything." She said as she walked off.

"But…" Iceburg said as she walked away, "My arm's falling asleep…"

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**KS: Jaa, that's that chapter! Hope you liked it. More than one part of it is attributed to Clarobell. XD**

**I think that was IC. I meant for Iceburg to be nice to Franky in this chapter because, well, they are essentially brothers and I know that when my sister is sick (no matter how much she may have bothered me otherwise), I help her and _try_ to be nice.**

**I hope I wrote it well…hm…I've been laid up at home for three days, sick, so I'm a little lightheaded. Oh well, if something can be added or improved, I can redo it, right? Again, the Spandam reward chapter's on hiatus. I really apologize for that, but there's not a lot I can do. Need more free time I do, yes. XDD**

**Don't forget to review!!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Tom's Workers**

**KS: Hello once again! Welcome to chapter twelve of Tom's Workers! So far, there have been over 1000 hits and 46 reviews! I would like to thank Clarobell for plugging my fic on her profile (as well as plugging my art XD ) AND for giving me various ideas. (I'm working on drawing something special for her birthday as thanks! ;) )**

**At this chapter, I will be reinstating the special reward fic. So, if you want it, you have to review! You don't have to ask in your reviews, you just review. Of course, if your e-mail isn't displayed, you have to e-mail me personally, but some of you already know that! **

**Also, I'd like to take this time to say that I have discovered a mistake that I have been making. As I was looking at my copy of vol. 37, I noticed that the dining area, sleeping area, and drafting area were all in the same room. I thought they were separate, but they're not! There seems to be a number of rooms (by the number of doors in the larger room I would think there are at least 5 rooms in the place), but the manga only covers two. (The two rooms covered are, of course, the sitting room--where Franky & Usopp were when CP9 arrived--and the dining/drafting/sleeping room. Of course, the futons are put up when they're not sleeping I would assume, as that is how it usually works.) So, I may not go back and fix any place where that would cause a discrepancy, and then again I might. But, if you notice/have noticed it in the past or possibly in the future, ignore it. Or, you could bring it to my attention. Whichever you like:)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own ONE PIECE or have any affiliation with Toei Animation, Shueisha/Jump Comics, Eiichiro Oda, or even the evil 4Kids Entertainment. **

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Chapter 12: Responsibility

Iceburg stared at his reflection in the mirror as he brushed his teeth for the night. His tiredness was clearly written on his face; it had been a long, hard day of work. But, he and Tom had made a lot of progress on a ship they were working on. He rinsed, gargled, and spat into the sink, looking back up with a slight smile of satisfaction. A good, honest day's work always gave you a good feeling about yourself.

In fact, they had made so much progress that day that they should be done in a day or two, as long as nothing came up. They were already a week ahead of schedule on their orders! If they kept going like this, they'd be done with all the ships they were scheduled to do in no time at all.

He put his toothbrush up and walked out of the bathroom, off to bed. Tom-san was already in there, asleep, and Cutty was sitting up and looking at illustrations of ships in an old book.

"Nma, Franky, what are you looking at in there? Those are warships." Iceburg asked as he walked up.

Cutty looked up at Iceburg. "Eh? Oh, I was just trying to get some ideas." he replied, looking back down at the thick volume on his lap. Iceburg rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Hah...Bakanky, you shouldn't be building stuff like that. You need to be more responsible."

Cutty pushed out his lower lip a little and huffed, first looking at Iceburg then turning his attention back to his book.

"Oh, you don't know anything, Bakaburg..." he muttered. Iceburg just shook his head and crawled under the covers to sleep. It was just Franky...that's how he was.

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The next day was another work day, and it was very pretty and warm outside. Tom was hauling some lumber, Yokozuna carried a box of tools as best he could, and Iceburg brought up the rear with a load of metal. Cutty was a ways off to the side, working on yet another Battle Franky.

"Nma," Iceburg started as he walked over to him, "You're going to work on that today?" he asked. Cutty was too enraptured in his work at the moment to look up--if he had, he probably would've hammered his thumb again. So, he just replied with a grunt.

"Mm-hm."

Iceburg shifted his load around. "You know, Franky, we could really use your help."

This time, Cutty tried to look up, but as soon as he did he fell from his upside-down perch on the railing of his new ship.

"Waah!" he shouted as he landed with a thud. He sat up, shaking the dust off of his head.

"No...I want to get this one done by the end of the month." he said.

Iceburg sighed. "Fine...suit yourself. But one of these days, you'll have to take up some responsibility." he said, walking away with his load. Cutty returned to his work, unconcerned.

"Whatever..." he muttered.

Iceburg didn't understand, and never would. Cutty mumbled to himself lightly, rubbing his slightly sore head as he picked his hammer up off of the ground. Ah...back to work. He took a nail and began to hammer it into place. He swung back his hammer quickly, but it felt weird as he did. He looked, and the head had flown off as he had swung it back.

"Huh..." Cutty mused. Where had it gone? Then, a sudden shout got his attention.

"Wah!!"

Cutty turned in just enough time to see the hammerhead hit Iceburg, sending him tripping forward slightly and therefore making him lose his balance with the load of metal he was carrying and fall, the metal coming down on his arm.

"AAGH!!" Iceburg cried out. Tom turned quickly, dropping his own load and rushing to help Iceburg. Cutty likewise stopped what he was doing and ran over.

"Ah...agh!!" Iceburg groaned as Tom lifted the metal off of his arm.

"Lie still, Iceburg." the fish-man said.

"Ah, Bakaburg, are you okay!?" Cutty asked as he came up. Iceburg groaned a bit as he tried to sit up. "Nma, I'm fine, I--" he stopped as a pang shot through his arm. "AGH!"

"I told you to lie still!" Tom-san said again. He turned to Yokozuna. "Go and get Kokoro-san."

"Gero geroh!" The sumo frog nodded, spinning around and leaping off to fetch her. Tom inspected Iceburg's arm carefully. "Ah...I'm afraid it's broken." he muttered.

Iceburg looked up at the Fish-man quickly. "Broken!? No! We've got work to do...!!"

Tom shook his head. "Don't worry about that, Iceburg, we'll be fine."

Cutty squatted down next to Iceburg. "Oh, man, does it hurt?" he asked innocently.

Iceburg rolled his eyes and sighed through his teeth. "Nma, Franky, you know it does."

Cutty just stared at it wonderingly, cocking his head. By now, Yokozuna was returning, followed by a worry-faced Kokoro. She came up and knelt down next to Iceburg as Tom moved out of the way and immediately began to assess the damage.

"N...tsk tsk...It's broken, all right," she said, "But...It doesn't seem to be _too_ bad; it could definitely be worse."

Iceburg moaned as he sat his head back. Cutty looked at him thoughtfully.

"It's okay Iceburg," he said. "You'll be better in no time."

Yokozuna handed Kokoro a first-aid kit, and Kokoro pulled out a splint and bandages. "It will take a few weeks to heal, as long as you take it easy." she said.

"But Kokoro-san...we're ahead! We're doing so well..." Iceburg interjected. Kokoro looked down at him. "No 'buts'. If you're ahead, that means you'll have more time to rest. Isn't that right, Tom-san?" asked. Tom nodded.

"Right. You've got to rest, or else your arm will get worse and you'll never be able to build ships. Franky will just have to take over for you." he agreed. Cutty's head shot up.

"Eh---?!" he gasped. "Work for Iceburg? But, but..."

Iceburg reached and grabbed Cutty's arm with his good one. "Franky, you've gotta help out now. It's your responsibility until I get better." he said. Cutty looked at him a moment.

"Hmph, fine. My Battle Franky can wait." he sighed. Iceburg smiled a bit.

"It won't be so bad, Franky. You'll just have to work a bit more...you know, do the stuff I normally do." he said. Cutty nodded. "All right."

Iceburg smiled. "Thanks."

Kokoro finished wrapping Iceburg's arm. "There, that should do it." she said, standing. "Now, Iceburg, you should go in to rest." she added.

Tom nodded. "Don't work that arm or it won't heal!"

Iceburg nodded as he stood. "Right, Tom-san, I know!" he said. He went off with Kokoro-san to go inside, leaving Tom, Cutty, and Yokozuna to work.

"Well," Tom started, looking at Cutty. "Are you ready to start?"

Cutty grinned. "Of course, Tom-san!" he replied, pumping his fists in a super way.

"Good! Now, you know what we have to do. It'll be hard while we're one man short, so we've got to work with an _extra_ 'DON'!" Tom said. Cutty nodded.

"Right!"

This wouldn't be so bad. He'd get to work with Tom-san without Iceburg being around for a while! It was super!

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It was about 10 o'clock now, and they were making fair progress.

"Oi, Icebur--I mean, Franky, could you get me that scale?" Tom asked. Cutty looked over at Tom from his task of carving a piece of lumber for the railing. "Eh? Oh..." he muttered. He sat the lumber and his plainer aside and hopped off his perch, fetcing the yard-long scale for the fish-man shipwright.

"Thanks." Tom said as he took it. Cutty sighed a bit and went back over to his own task.

It had been a rather hard day so far. It wasn't like he didn't help Tom-san before...he just did things sort of _alternatingly_...for a while, he'd work on a Battle Franky, and for a while he'd help Tom-san and Iceburg. But, now that Iceburg was laid up, he had to do the jobs that he'd normally do and the jobs that Iceburg'd do. It was running him a bit ragged.

"Oi, Franky, sorry to bother you again, but could you help me with this for now?" Tom asked again. Cutty sat his stuff aside once more. "Yeah, Tom-san, I'm coming!" he replied.

He hurried over to help. Still...he didn't mind so much. He liked spending time with Tom-san. And, he liked building ships. He was, though, getting a better feeling of what Iceburg had to do from day to day.

Being the oldest assistant gave more responsibilities, and Iceburg was four years his senior.

That gave him a thought. Iceburg's birthday would be coming up soon...Perhaps he should do something super special for it. Of course, he probably wouldn't have too much extra time, but...he could try.

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It was now 12 o'clock--time for lunch.

Cutty stood in front of the sink, placing a band-aid over a small cut he had gotten earlier on his face. He could smell various scents coming from the other room...mostly bacon and toasted bread. He figured they'd be having BLTs for lunch. He smiled a little, making the band-aid on his face wrinkle. A nice BLT sandwich and a cola sounded really good.

He looked to make sure that the bandage wouldn't fall off because of the smile (or future smiles), and noticed a smudge of grease. He wiped it clean with the still-damp hand towel--no one would notice--and left for the dining room.

He strolled out of the bathroom to the dining table, where Iceburg already was waiting. The older apprentice was engrossed in a book, being careful not to lean on his busted arm.

Obviously lunch wasn't quite ready yet, and he didn't know where Tom-san had went off to, so he settled himself in at the table to wait with Iceburg.

He sat there in the quiet for a moment. It was a little boring.

He started to drum his fingers on the table as he looked about. Apparently he became engrossed in it and was too loud, because Iceburg gave him a look that said simply, 'stop'.

So he did.

Still bored, he tilted his neck a little to see the title of the book that Iceburg was reading. It said: '_Kaigun_'. Hm...what a weird name. "Iceburg..." Cutty started.

"Hm?" Iceburg muttered, not looking up from his reading.

"What'cha readin?" Cutty asked.

"Kaigun. It's a book about the Marines." Iceburg replied, moving his hand so Cutty could see the familiar seagull emblem of the Marines on the front cover. "It's fiction." he added. He went back into the book.

"The Marines?" Cutty asked, not quite ready yet to leave the topic. "They're the ones that executed the Pirate King, weren't they."

It was said more as a statement than question.

Iceburg looked up from his book, quiet a moment. It hadn't been that long since the Government had caught up with Gold Roger and executed him in Lougetown...it hadn't been that long since the Government had started to go after anyone who had connections with the Pirate King. It hadn't been that long since Kokoro and Tom-san had started talking about what might happen.

Iceburg nodded. "Yeah...they are."

Cutty thumped at the table a few more times with his fingers as he swung his feet about.

"...Is it good? The book, I mean." he asked.

It hadn't exactly been what Iceburg had expected him to say, but then again he couldn't predict the boy very well.

"...It's pretty good so far."

And then the room was quiet again...for a time.

That time was brought to it's end by Tom-san and Yokozuna coming in.

"Ah, Tom-san!" Cutty said, eyes brightening. "Where've you been?"

Tom laughed a little bit. "I had just forgotten to do something, don't worry about it." he replied.

About that time, Kokoro came in with the food.

"Ah, Tom-san, you're back already?" she asked. Tom nodded.

"Aa. It didn't take long." he replied. Kokoro smiled as she sat the plates of food in front of the hungry men--and frog. "Good, good." she said. She started back to the door. "I'll be right back with the drinks." And with that she stepped back out.

Cutty, though he really would like that cola she was sure to fetch for him, couldn't wait. With all the double time work he had done that morning, he was starving.

"Itadakimasu!!" Cutty said happily as he picked the sandwich up off of the plate. He shoved it into his mouth; that first bite was _so_ good.

Food was always better after you work, of course, but Kokoro-san was a good cook anyways.

"So, Iceburg," Tom started, "How's your arm?"

Iceburg looked down at the bound-up appendage. He swallowed the food he had in his mouth so he could speak.

"Nma, my arm? It's fine, don't worry." he replied.

Tom nodded. "Good."

And about that time Kokoro came back. She sat an ice-cold bottle of cola down in front of Cutty, the little fragments of ice on the outside from the cooler wiped off, just how he liked it.

He snatched it up happily. "Thanks, Kokoro-san!" he said, taking a swig. Kokoro gave the others their drinks, too.

"N! Super!!" Cutty grinned. He sat the cola back down on the table, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He didn't know what went into a cola, but they were great. And addictive! He picked his sandwich back up and took another large bite.

"Mm, Tom-sthan..." He started, the big chunk of food in his mouth slurring his words a bit.

"How long do you think it'sh gunna take ush to finish th' ship?" he asked, swallowing after he was finished speaking. Tom laughed a little.

"Oh, not long, not long." he replied. He looked over to Kokoro. "He's been a very good helper today." he added. Kokoro smiled.

"Oh, really?" she asked. Tom nodded, stopping to speak as he brought his sandwich to his mouth.

"Mm. He's a good shipwright...I can't wait to see the thing he'll build when he grows up." he replied. Cutty beamed, grinning broadly.

"Heh heh...I'm going to build the greatest ships ever!! Just wait, Tom-san!" the little boy said. Tom laughed. "Ta ha ha, I'm sure you will!!!"

Cutty smiled even more. See? It had been a great day so far. This 'filling in for Iceburg' thing wouldn't be bad. A bit more work...but not bad.

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**KS: Daijobu saa mae ni susumou...oh, sorry. In a bit of a funky mood, listening to music...I think I'm about to pass out...I'd better go see about that. XP**

**Anyways, that's the end of that chapter. Don't worry, it's not a cliffhanger, there'll be more. And, pretty soon, we're going to be getting into the meat of things. **

**And, I'm REALLY sorry for the slowness of the updates, but I've been annoyingly busy. No time for drawing or writing...it's driving me nuts. XD**

**Ah…next chapter may come sometime soon, may not. Sorry!**


	13. Birthday

**Tom's Workers**

**KS: Hello! Welcome to chapter thirteen of Tom's Workers :D**

**I hope you're all enjoying so far; don't forget to review! If you do, you'll make me think I'm not doing a good enough job and you don't like it!**

**I'm sorry for the slowness of the update. It's just that I had one idea for this chapter and started to write it, but sort of scrapped it midway. XD**

**This is my second idea. I like this one better...so, go on and read!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE or have any affiliations with Eiichiro Oda, Shueisha/Jump Comics, Toei Animation, or even the evil, horrible 4Kids Entertainment (who **_**are**_** the legal liscense holders in North America still...cries )**

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**Chapter 13: Happy Birthday, Bakaburg**

Cutty Flam woke up...it was _VERY_ early.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. His mind wondered lazily what on _earth_ he was doing up this early, and why he wasn't going back to sleep. He then remembered: it was Iceburg's birthday.

He stretched and yawned as quietly as he could so as not to wake up the two sleeping on either side of him, then slipped out of bed and made his way to the door, snickering a little.

Bakaburg was going to get a good surprise today...

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After grabbing a sandwich he had secretly made last night, Cutty snuck outside. It wasn't quite daylight yet, and it was still rather dark. He made his way to his destination and stood before it, chewing on his sandwich.

It was a large...something...covered by a bland tarp. One wouldn't have thought much of it had they seen it among the junk of the scrapyard, but Cutty had been extra careful about hiding it, knowing that either Iceburg or Tom could probably notice it without a problem. He looked around--first one way, then the other--and removed the covering.

It was a ship. It was rather nicely made, but...it wasn't finished. There was still a ways to go.

Cutty had been working on it secretly for the past few weeks as diligently as he could just so it could be ready for today. It didn't lack too much...but he'd have to hurry if he wanted it done before anyone woke up and noticed he was gone. Cutty shoved the rest of the sandwich into his mouth; it was time to get to work.

He climbed up onto its deck and began. First of all, he had to hang the sails. He hadn't a lot of extra time, so the sails weren't anything special, but they were of good quality at least.

After he got them up and rigged, he drew them up so they were less visible in case anyone woke up. The next thing was to finish carving a few things.

He plained down one spot on the railing that he thought wasn't quite right, and then he began to carve in some rather nice designs like he had seen Tom-san do once on a larger ship. He did it as nicely as he could with the time alloted. Of course, he had done quite a bit of it on previous days.

He worked for a good while--about an hour and a half of work that morning, as he figured it. He looked, and the sun's rays were starting to break over the horizon.

He still had _one _thing to do...

He grabbed a little bucket of black paint and walked up to the side of the vessel. He pulled the brush out of the tar-colored stuff and began to paint large letters on the side of the ship.

He used the best writing he could muster and was very careful not to let it run or drip, and soon he was done. He stood back and surveyed his work.

It read:

_**Battle Iceburg I**_

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"Tah ha ha...!! ...!! ...!!"

"Shh! He'll hear you!!"

Two figures were hunched next to Iceburg's bed. One of their hands reached over and shook the blue-haired teen gently. "Iceburg...Iceburg..."

Iceburg stirred, mumbling a bit. He rolled over onto his back and his eyes fluttered open.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ICEBURG!!" Tom and Kokoro said, smiling broadly. Iceburg rubbed his eyes, a smile lighting onto his face as well.

"Nma...morning already?" he asked jokingly. He sat up and looked at the two, his brow furrowing a bit. "Where's Franky?" he asked.

"He's still asleep; we couldn't wake him up." Kokoro replied, pointing over to the out-of-it boy sprawled next to him. Iceburg looked at him and sighed.

"Didn't he go to bed early last night...?" he asked. Kokoro nodded. "Aa, but I guess he was just really tired." she replied. Iceburg shook his head.

"Wake...UP!!" he shouted, punching the younger boy. Cutty sat up quickly.

"Ow!!!" he gasped. He glared over at Iceburg, one hand sitting on the goose egg on his head. "Oi! What'd you do that for, Bakaburg?!"

Iceburg smiled playfully. "It's my birthday...I get to do what I want."

The look of anger faded from Cutty's face. "Oh, yeah!" he smiled. He rubbed the knot on his head.

"But..." he started. "YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO HIT ME!!!" he growled as he leapt onto Iceburg.

"Oi!" Kokoro interjected. "Watch Iceburg's arm!!"

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After they were all up and awake, they had a great big breakfast, then Cutty and Tom went to work. Iceburg, though he was feeling much better and only had a week left with his cast, still couldn't help. But of course he didn't want to stay cooped up all day long in the house on his birthday, so he came allong to watch.

The plan was that they should build until lunch, which they would then spend having a birthday party for Iceburg and give him his presents, and then take the rest of the day off.

"Nma, this ship looks fantastic, Tom-san!" Iceburg awed as he looked at the newest ship. Tom smiled, chuckling a little. "Don't forget, Franky helped a lot with a 'DON'!"

Iceburg looked over at the younger boy. "Him? He would have to get a lot better before he could help on something like _this_."

Cutty smiled proudly. "You should see, Bakaburg! My shipbuilding skills have gotten a lot better!" he said. Iceburg smirked a little.

"Oh? Well I guess you'll have to prove that to me when I come back to work."

Cutty pounded his bare chest with his fist. "You bet! I'll do that and then some!"

Tom turned towards the two. "Ta ha...!! ...!! You tell him, Franky! You really have gottten better! Now come on, we've got a ship to finish."

Cutty stretched his arms up over his head. "Yeah! I know we can do it today, Tom-san!" he grinned. And they started back into working.

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Iceburg watched as Tom and Cutty worked diligently on the newest ship. He smiled; it was nice being back out there, even if he wasn't doing anything. And, to his surprise, Cutty was working pretty hard. He hadn't seen him doing any major work yet, but...he was doing what Tom said without any backtalk. Of course, he loved Tom-san. It was Iceburg that Cutty didn't get along with all the time.

As he watched, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look, and it was a fairly big object. He didn't remember that from the last time he was really out here...

It was in the obvious shape of a ship and was covered by a bland tarp. It wasn't very noticable, but wasn't very inconspicuous either. Iceburg wondered a few moments what it was.

Probably just another Battle Franky, Iceburg thought. He thought a moment on how Franky shouldn't be making such ships before shrugging it off and going back to watching Tom and Cutty at work, wishing he was helping.

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Lunch time rolled around quickly, though not quickly enough for Iceburg.

They all sat down to various favorites of Iceburg, and there were plenty of colas for Franky.

"Nma, Tom-san," Iceburg said as he ate, "I was thinking about going into town after we're done."

Kokoro looked up. "Into town? You don't want to spend time with us?" she asked, smiling a little as she knew exactly what he meant.

"It's not that, it's just...well...I'm sixteen now. I kind of wanted to go hang out with a few people at the Soda Shoppe." Iceburg replied. Franky's ears perked right up at the mention of anything cola. He sat down the bottle of the stuff he was chugging from and swallowed, clearing his throat.

"Hey, if he goes, can I?" he asked, turning to Kokoro. Iceburg looked over quickly at him.

"Nma!! No!" he interjected. He looked over at Kokoro. "Kokoro-san, please don't let him!"

"What? What's wrong with me going?" the younger blue-haired boy asked.

Kokoro laughed softly. "Franky, Iceburg wants to go by himself. That's alright. He's been cooped up for the most part for the past few weeks, anyways, so it'll be nice for him, ne?" she answered. She turned to Iceburg.

"That'll be fine. Just be back before dark." she answered. Iceburg smiled. "Thanks, Kokoro-san."

Cutty pouted a little bit, mumbling something about Iceburg getting better treatment as he brought his bottle of cola up to his lips. Tom laughed a little as he sat down an empty bowl of what was his third helping of soba.

"So, Iceburg, what does it feel like to be sixteen?" he asked as Kokoro brought him another bowl.

"It feels great, Tom-san." Iceburg replied with a smile. Cutty wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Really?" he asked. "When I turned twelve, it didn't feel any different. What's the big deal with being sixteen?"

Iceburg scratched the back of his head. "Well...I guess it's just that you're older...and that you're not fifteen anymore." he replied. Cutty still looked a little confused.

"Nma, that's the best thing I can think of, anyways." Iceburg said. "You'll get it when you turn sixteen, all right?"

Cutty still didn't get it, and he was going to ask another question, but he didn't have time.

Kokoro walked back into the room, carying a cake with sixteen brightly-burning candles on it.

"Okay, I think it's time for the cake now!" she said as she brought it in and set it before Iceburg.

"All right, blow out the candles and make a wish!" she smiled.

Iceburg laughed a little, pretending like he thought it was a bit childish for his now sixteen year-old self. He breathed in, getting ready to blow out the candles, but Cutty beat him to it.

"Fuu!!!" the smaller blue-haired boy blew, succesfuly getting all sixteen candles out in one go. "Oh yeah! I'm super today!" he cheered. Iceburg glared over at him.

"Nmaa!! What did you do that for!?" he growled. Cutty grinned.

"Getting back for you hitting me this morning." he replied simply. "Plus, you were taking forever on blowing them out anyways. Look, wax got on the cake..." the boy said, pointing. Iceburg whacked Cutty on the head. "You don't blow out the candles for someone else!!"

Kokoro came between them.

"Oi, oi! Settle down! Now here, Iceburg, don't worry about it. Here's your present from Tom-san and me." she said, handing over a large, nicely wrapped box. Iceburg smiled a bit and the cake was put aside, for the moment forgotten. Icburg undid the yellow ribbon and undid the blue paper from the box and lifted the lid.

"Uoah! I've always wanted one of these!!" Iceburg said, rasing the box up a little so he could have a better look. "Thanks, Tom-san! Kokoro-san!!" he smiled. Cutty sat up a little taller to try to see what was inside.

"Oi, lemme see...!!" he leaned a little too far over, and fell off of his chair. Tom, of course, laughed until he was breathless, and Iceburg stared at the boy as if he was an embarassment to the human race.

Cutty sprang back up quickly. "Chih...darn chair..." he said, setting it back upright and sitting down on it. Iceburg tilted the box over so Cutty could see what was inside without killing himself. "It's nice, ne?" he asked. Cutty gaped at it.

"Uoah! It's cool!" he smiled. Iceburg smiled as well.

"So, what did you get me?" he asked.

Cutty sat up straight and grinned. "What did I get you?" he asked. "Heh heh...You've got to come with me to see!" The young shipwright got up out of his chair and marched proudly to the door.

Iceburg looked a little confused, but followed anyways.

The little blue-haired boy led Iceburg and the others out to the scrapyard, where he made his way around and over countless tattered pieces of old ships to make his way to one thing in particular. He stopped in front of the large, canvas-covered thing that Iceburg had seen earlier, and the boy gestured to it grandly.

"This," he started loudly, "Is my present to you!" He reached up and grabbed the covering. "You're going to love it!" he said as he pulled it off.

Iceburg gasped a bit as he saw what was underneath. It was a fairly well-built ship, done in a good solid style. Its trim was even painted in Iceburg's favorite colors...But, on the side in big, black letters was written, "_**Battle Iceburg I**_." Iceburg narrowed his eyes.

"Nma, Franky! Why on _Earth_ would you build me a battleship!!? After all I've said to you about them!!" he huffed, glaring over at the younger boy. Cutty looked confused for a second, then hurt.

"But...But...Iceburg, I--" he muttered. Iceburg sighed through his teeth.

"I don't want to hear it...you can keep your present, Bakanky..." he said, turning and walking away.

Cutty's eyes swelled with tears. "T-There's only one cannon on it a-anyways..." he muttered. "You can't even see it unless you raise the hatch..."

Kokoro walked over to him and put his arm around the boy. "It's okay, Franky, don't cry..."

Cutty put his arm up over his eyes. "I-I'm not crying! Shut up!!"

Kokoro turned to Tom. "You'd better go talk to Iceburg." she said. Tom nodded.

"Aa...I'll go. You watch him." he replied, gesturing to the crying Cutty.

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Iceburg was inside, slowly and thoughtfully getting ready to go into town. Tom walked in.

"Iceburg..." he started. The blue-haired teen looked up, slightly startled. "Nma, Tom-san. I didn't hear you come in." he said. Tom walked up to him.

"You know you hurt Franky's feelings, right?" the fish-man asked. Iceburg looked away a little.

"Maybe...But he should know I wouldn't want something like that!!!" he replied. Tom sighed.

"That doesn't matter, he built it for _you_, and he put a lot of time and effort into it." he said.

Now it was Iceburg's turn to sigh. "But Tom-san...I've told him a dozen times how irresponsible those ships are! And now _I've_ got one to deal with..." he muttered.

Tom smiled, chuckling a little. "You know, Franky said he only put _one_ cannon on it, anyways. That's all a ship that size needs. And it seems like a well-built ship, anyways." he said. "You can use it for whatever you want, too."

Iceburg thought on that a moment. "I...guess so." he muttered. He turned to Tom. "I guess it's a pretty good present. I...should go talk to him..." he said. He went and walked out to the scrapyard.

Cutty was there, alone, sitting on the railing of the new ship and facing the sea.

"Franky..." Iceburg called, climing onto the deck. Cutty didn't turn. "N?" he grunted, acknowledging Iceburg's presence.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said this was a lousy present." Iceburg said. He ran his hand along the railing. "You did a really great job on it, after all...it's really nice." he added.

"...Thanks." Cutty said after a pause. There was a brief silence.

"Maybe we can take it out for a ride?" Iceburg suggested.

"I thought you said you were going into town." Cutty muttered. Iceburg smiled a little.

"And miss out on the chance to sail my ship out on it's maiden voyage?" he said. Cutty turned.

"Really, Bakaburg?" he asked. Iceburg nodded. "Really."

Cutty grinned. "Thanks, Iceburg."

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**KS: Thanks again for reading! I'm soooooooooooooo sorry for the long wait in updating. I haven't been writing much, and when I have, it's been on my own series, not on fanfiction. ;**

**Anyways, the next chapter will be a jump of a few weeks into the future...it'll be very volume 37-ish. X3**

**Don't forget to review!!**


	14. Shihousen Arrives

**KS: Welcome to another chapter of Tom's Workers! I apologize for the long waits between updates…I've been uninspired and busy. XDD**

**I'll try to do more…but, while waiting for writings, do go and check out my One Piece fanart at my DeviantART account.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter:D**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own or have any affiliations with any company that has any rights to ONE PIECE.**

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Cutty Flam rolled over on his futon, deep in sleep and immersed in his dreams. He had stayed up late the previous night drawing up plans for a new weapons and deck system for his latest Battle Franky, and even though the sun had risen well into the sky that beautiful Saturday morning, he was not yet ready to wake up.

He would be even less ready to wake up if he knew the events that would take place that day.

Iceburg came into the room, looking around quickly. Spotting the huddled sleeping mass he was searching for, he ran over to him and nudged him harshly with his foot.

"Nma! Bakanky, get up!!" he said hurriedly.

Cutty rolled over, muttering angrily as he regained consciousness.

"Che, what is it, Bakaburg!!? I'm trying to sleep!"

Iceburg looked at him severely, biting his dark blue lip. His cheeks were flushed and a bit of sweat shone upon his brow, and there was a look of urgency and worry written upon his features.

"It's Tom," said he, "They've taken him!"

Cutty sat up with a start.

"What?!" he gasped. "Who? Who's taken him!?"

Iceburg already had the younger boy by the wrist, pulling him forcibly from his bed.

"I'm not sure, I think it's the World Government." He replied.

Cutty's eyes grew wide.

"Ah! Then it's about the pirate king's ship...!!"

"Probably, but we haven't got time to wonder! We have to go!"

Cutty freed himself from Iceburg's distracted grip and pulled a clean shirt on. The two blue-haired boys ran from the building, wondering what would be the fate of their mentor.

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Cutty and Iceburg ran through the crowds of people, the giant fish-man in the distance as their goal.

"Where are they taking him?" Cutty panted. Iceburg shook his head.

"I'm not sure." He started. "I don't think—"

He was cut off by a man running in front of them and grabbing a woman's arm.

"It's the Shihousen!" he cried. "That's where they're taking Tom!"

The woman gasped a bit with a manner of confusion. "The Shihousen? Is it that serious?" she asked. The man scratched his head.

"It must be…do you think they're going to execute him…?"

Cutty and Iceburg glanced at each other.

"Shihousen?" Cutty asked, furrowing his brow. Iceburg thought a minute, after which his eyes grew wide.

"Shihousen…Shihousen! That's the Government judgment ship!" he gasped. He looked over at Cutty. "This is really bad!" he exclaimed. He dashed off towards the fish-man once again. "Tom-san! Tom-san!!"

Cutty stood for a moment, somewhat shocked. Bad? Executed? Oh no.

He ran off in the direction that Iceburg had just went, calling out at the top of his lungs.

"TOM-SAN!!!"

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**KS: Thanks for reading. Sorry for the long update waits!! XD **

**I really will try a bit harder to do more…I'm just largely uninspired. :/**


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